Team ANVL
by animegamer89
Summary: After the Battle of Haven, Oscar and Ozpin need time to recover their strength before everyone heads north to Atlas. Jaune decides to use this time to exercise and explore his semblance, and apply the newfound power to his remaining teammates with the help of Team RWBY. Can Jaune be ready for the journey north when the time comes?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So my master plan to do weekly, or biweekly updates didn't work out. I had a lot of plot bunnies.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. It is the intellectual property of the late Monty Oum, and his team and friends at Rooster Teeth.**

Chapter 1 – The Hangover

"You know, I thought to myself that I would do whatever it took to train my semblance, but this… this isn't what I had in mind," said Jaune.

Jaune had been told that it was utterly urgent that he see Ruby. He ran to the other room, and feared the worst. Then, he saw the proud leader of their sister team crumpled in on herself on the bed with her hands clasped onto her head. He remembered their team celebrated the successful defense of Haven last night, and he couldn't help but shake his.

"The drums…" she whined, "Make it stop."

Jaune turned to Yang, Blake, and Weiss.

"So… I guess you all had fun?"

"A little too much fun," admitted Yang, "It was Ruby's idea."

"TREASON!" the pained girl accused, before huddling even deeper into the ball her body made, "Owie… my head."

"First time drinking, Ruby?" asked Jaune.

"It… was a… victory party…" she whimpered.

Jaune chuckled a little, but understood why Ruby might have felt the need to go all out. After the Battle at Haven, Jaune Arc felt waves of relief and euphoria himself. He finally discovered his semblance. He called it Aura Amplification, and its potential made his mind whirl at the possibilities of its uses. He'd be sure to talk to Ren about it later. Just as important though was the fact that Cinder was gone. Maybe not by his hand, but she was gone. The object of his anger and hate was no more, and it was as though a huge weight had lifted off his shoulders.

As he remembered Ruby needed help, he knelt at his friend's side, and had her sit upright, despite the protests, before putting his hands to her temples. He then began to focus his aura, and thought on the moment he activated his semblance for the first time, when Weiss was dying.

"Help her…" he whispered, inaudible to the others.

He felt his aura flicker and his power began to activate. His hands shone bright, which made Ruby retreat even further.

"Too bright," she mewled.

"Keep your eyes closed then, if it helps," he said.

Ruby complied, and she began to relax. The gentle twinkle and hum of his power filled the room. Jaune closed his eyes a little, and it sounded like music to him. Given the more relaxed breathing Ruby started to have, he figured the sound was music to her ears as well.

"So, is that your semblance? Flashy," commented Yang.

"You can heal?" asked Blake, surprised.

"No… aura does all the healing. I'm just giving Ruby a boost," explained Jaune.

"So that's how you helped me," commented Weiss.

"Yeah," he said, "Your aura did all the work, it's just your levels were far too low to do anything regarding… regarding your wound. I just sort of cranked it up with some of mine. Like a jumpstart if you want to think about it that way. I think it also temporarily boosted your aura reserves too."

Weiss nodded in confirmation, and Jaune returned his attentions to Ruby.

"Now, normally aura wouldn't help with something like a hangover, since it's your body's natural response to dealing with too much alcohol in the body. However, just like with Weiss, I'm just urging your aura to make an exception this time, Ruby."

"Thanks…" moaned Ruby, a little less pained than before.

Jaune took it as a sign he was on the right track, and decided to distract Ruby a little more to make the healing go a little faster.

"So… let me guess, whiskey… tequila… scotch…"

"All of it," sighed Ruby with a wince in her voice.

Jaune looked to Yang.

"And here I thought introducing your sister to alcohol responsibly would be something you could easily do, Yang," said Jaune.

"She wanted to try it," said Yang defensively, "I figured a little booze was well earned, given what our teams went through. I _did_ tell her to do it slowly, but you know Ruby. She wanted to rush in, headfirst."

"Uh-huh. Still, you should have had her start with light beer, or if she wanted something harder, wine," said Jaune, "And the good stuff, not that cheap swill from Vacuo Neptune got us before the Vytal Festival."

"Since when are you an expert on drinking?" asked Yang, a little put off by Jaune's lecture.

"For the past eight years; I've been drinking since I was ten," he answered.

The room grew quiet, and Jaune looked at silver eyes that opened in surprise. He turned to see equally surprised looks on the faces of Yang, Weiss, and Blake.

"What?" he asked.

"Eight years?!" asked Yang, "How? I didn't get my first drink until I turned sixteen, and only because I was at a party."

"My dad let me," said Jaune, "My family owns a vineyard. The land was an investment my great great grandfather made just before the Great War. Our wine is some of the best in all of Remnant. When I was ten, my dad figured it was time for me to learn the family business. I've been sampling alcohol for a long time."

"I understand wanting to bring a successor into a family business as soon as possible, but don't you think ten is a little too early? I mean, you were a minor," said Weiss.

"I'm from Seine Province, southwest of Vale proper," began Jaune, "Technically, the legal age for drinking there is 16, though some families introduce it earlier. Even then, we aren't given goblets or bottles if that what you're thinking, but we are allowed _sips_ of wine as soon as we're old enough for soda. Furthermore, all taverns and bars are required to ask for IDs before serving alcohol to anyone. For me though, drinking that early is almost expected given our family trade."

"I thought, your family were, you know, huntsmen," said Blake.

"Yeah, we are…" he replied wistfully, "I come from a line of heroes going back to my great great grandfather and his campaigns in Anima during the Great War. Each generation has performed extraordinary deeds. However, the vineyard is our most reliable form of income these days. Unless they're the highest classification of danger, huntsman missions don't pay much, and with me and seven sisters, my dad had to help out mom a lot and take on less dangerous missions on the side. My older sisters and I also had to pull our weight with the farm, and raising our younger siblings when they were babies. Add in the fact my older sisters also had teenage issues of their own to deal with, my dad never had the time to train me, or most of my other sisters."

"That sound pretty rough," said Yang.

"It was," he answered, "I think dad knew I wouldn't be able to learn from him, as tradition dictated, so he had me learn the business. We knew other Seinese huntsman families. Any children I, or my sisters, might have could learn from them."

He deactivated his semblance.

"Feel better?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Ruby.

"Good," said Jaune, "If you ever feel like drinking again, let me know. I'll get you set up properly."

"I don't want to think about alcohol for a while," groaned Ruby.

"That would probably be for the best. Well, if there's nothing else ladies, I've got studying to get back to," said Jaune.

"Studying?" asked Ruby.

"Yeah… with your team back together, and my semblance finally revealing itself, I have to figure out how I'm going to reconfigure my team," explained Jaune.

Ruby blinked at him.

"W-What do you mean reconfigure it?"

"Well, I mean with RWBY back together, I have to figure out how I'm going to lead Ren and Nora," said Jaune.

"Just because my team's back doesn't mean things have to change. We can still do RNJR," argued Ruby.

Jaune was taken aback by the concerned, no, _worried_ look on Ruby's face. He looked around, and saw that Yang, Weiss, and Blake were just as surprised by their team leader's outburst. Jaune thought on his words, and realized how it might have sounded to Ruby. After months of traveling together, Team RNJR had grown just as important to her as Team RWBY had in Beacon. His words made it sound like he was going wrench that away. He felt horrible as he looked back to the confused, scared face Ruby had, but he still had a responsibility to Ren and Nora, and he steeled himself for what he was about to say.

"We can still do Team RNJR, I'm not saying that it will never happen again," he began before he took a breath, "But it won't be that way forever. I thought Team JNPR was going to be forever too, but… well, things happened."

Ruby was quiet.

"I don't want to scare you Ruby, but I have to do this. What if my team gets separated from yours in a fight? I need to know if, and how we can hold our own as we are now. I hope you understand where I'm coming from with this," said Jaune.

"…I do," said Ruby, after some thought, "It's just, you don't have to do it all by yourself, Jaune."

"By myself?" asked Jaune, confused.

"I saw you training by yourself in Anima from time to time. You pushed yourself longer and harder while the rest of us were sleeping. I know you want to do things on your own, to prove yourself, but you have to remember you have friends who can help."

Jaune stared at Ruby for a bit before he gave her a soft smile.

"Ruby… thank you," he said warmly, before he chuckled, "Although since you mentioned it, I didn't plan to do all my training by myself."

"You didn't?" she asked.

"No," he reassured, "The truth is I need help exercising and exploring my semblance. I was hoping to ask you guys, but I didn't know when to ask. I figured you'd all want to spend time reconnecting with each other first. Since you seem to be offering though, maybe you could swing by tomorrow when your hangover is gone, and you've had some rest?"

Ruby nodded quickly.

"Yeah, no problem… ow!" yelped Ruby as she gripped her head, "I thought you got rid of the hangover."

Jaune rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile.

"I need the practice?" he suggested.

Ruby made puppy eyes.

"Er… think of it as a lesson to not trust your sister when it comes to drinking?"

Ruby made _sad_ puppy eyes, and he could hear Yang growl.

"… Close your eyes. I'll take care of it," sighed Jaune.

Ruby grinned a little too victoriously, but Jaune went along anyway. He _did_ need the practice, and being this close to his friend would keep Yang at bay.

 **This story is essentially going to be a montage of events, leading up to the formation of a new team setup of Jaune, Nora, and Ren. It also introduces a headcanon for Jaune's background that I'm working on for another story of mine. Let me know what you think about that.**

 **The next chapter will be up tomorrow for Easter.**

 **Reviews are welcome.**


	2. Chapter 2

**The second chapter to "Team ANVL" as promised.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. It is the intellectual property of the late Monty Oum, and his team and friends at Rooster Teeth.**

Chapter 2 – Check Up

Weiss stood before the plain door before her with an uncertain feeling in her stomach. It was strange; if this were her father, or Ruby, or anyone really, there would be no issue. She always had an approach in mind for talking to people she was familiar with. Her father required professionalism, Ruby and Yang preferred "straight talk" as they preferred to call it. Jaune though… she was didn't know what he preferred.

In the past, Jaune always approached _her_ , and she had a clear method for responding.

Crush it.

That had been her reliable solution to any conversation with Jaune Arc… in the past.

Now?

Now she wanted to thank him for saving her life, for helping her keep her promise to Yang: to be standing there with the rest of them when Blake came back.

She had never initiated a conversation with Jaune before, and was at a loss. True they had one another's number for their scrolls, but that was more a "buddy system" arrangement that Ruby put in place for both of her team and Team JNPR. They almost never interacted after Beacon's Unity Dance before the Breach, or during the reunion they had last week. Now though, given the situation they faced, the stakes at play, and their enemy, there would be a need for more communication between all seven of them. She thought to his personality, and believed a similar approach to Ruby would be the best bet.

She knocked tentatively.

…

She knocked again, a little louder.

…

She put her handle on the door, and gave a loud knock.

"Jaune?" she asked as she opened the door.

She gawked at the sight: books and papers strewn about all over the place along with a few empty bottles of soda. On a chair in front of the table near the balcony door sat her target, eyes closed doing the best boarbatusk impression she ever heard.

She carefully walked over to the blonde, and got a better look at his sleeping form. She noticed the book laying in his lap, and picked it up daintily so as not to wake him.

"The Science of Aura," she read the title.

She looked through a few pages, and skimmed detailed descriptions of aura's nature, how it interacts with the human body, and so on. She put the book on the desk, and looked at some of the papers strewn about the room. There was a crudely drawn picture of-

"Nora Mega Hammer Slam?" Weiss remarked reading the title of the diagram.

There was a picture of Nora breaking what looked like Hazel Rainart with her hammer. Behind Nora was a crudely drawn Jaune with wavy lines coming out of his fingers, likely his semblance, powering up her strike. At the bottom of the page was Nora's name and the date. Weiss snorted, and figured Nora's earlier presence was the main reason for the mess. Given the cherry flavor of the soda bottles, Ruby was definitely here as well, like Jaune suggested she be. There were other pages and diagrams that caught her attention as well. "Area Cloak" illustrated Jaune enhancing Ren's ability to hide the emotional states of multiple people from the Grimm. "Invisible Armor" showed Jaune bolster the defensive capabilities of his own aura in general. There were also texts on military tactics with an emphasis on squad-based combat, and strategic theories.

"Good to know he's taking this seriously," she said with a soft smile.

"Pyr…" he grumbled in his sleep, "No… Pyr… I can save you now…"

Her heart stilled at the words.

She turned to see the blonde tossing a little in his chair.

"Don't… send me away…" he whimpered, "I can… help…"

She walked over, and reached over to wake him, to reassure him that it was only a dream.

Her hand stopped an inch from his brow.

Would it be strange for him to hear words of comfort from her lips?

It hurt her to see him like this, but it hurt her more to know she didn't know what to say to help him. Their teams were supposed to be close, yet only Ruby, and occasionally Yang, ever spoke to him. She saw him shiver, and decided she could at least do something about that. She moved all the papers and books on the bed and put them to the side table on the opposite end of the room. Weiss then pulled the blanket, and wrapped it around the blonde, who began to relax more.

Weiss then saw the pile around her, and got an idea of how to help him.

xXxXx

Jaune stirred in his chair and opened his eyes. It was sunset... his body stood up immediately, and he banged his hip against the table.

"Ack!" he yelped out loud.

When he looked down to see if he broke anything important, he saw the heavy blanket of his bed fall to the floor.

"I didn't…" he began, but was cut off by a new sound.

"Jaune…?"

He looked to his right to see Weiss was sitting in the room on his bed. She was wearing loungewear, silk pants and a white t-shirt, with her hair down, and some papers in her hands. He noticed something else as he looked around, and the mess he swore he would clean up after resting his eyes had already been organized into neat piles and stacks on his bed positioned in front of Weiss.

"If you're looking for the mess, I organized it for you. The books are behind you, and are alphabetized. Any pages you may have been on are marked as well, so you don't have to scour the book page by page where you left off."

Jaune turned around and about, and saw Weiss' explanation was correct. It was a very nice gesture…

Was he dreaming?

It probably wasn't a good idea to ask that.

"Oh, thank you Weiss," said Jaune gratefully instead.

"You're welcome," said Weiss, before she returned her attention to the paper she was reading, "These are very good ideas. Did you spend the whole day coming up with them?"

Jaune glanced at the paper she was holding.

"Oh… you mean the team combinations? Yeah, Ren and Nora helped a lot. Ruby swung by also."

"Oh, I know," she said, "I saw some of her… eloquently labeled ideas. Mind explaining what _Dragon Slayer_ is?"

"It's a team attack name; Ruby's better at it than me," said Jaune, before he cleared his throat, "Well, with Dragon Slayer, I basically amplify Yang's fists, and semblance. Ruby thinks it will turn her sister into a raging fireball with 'fists of fury'… It sounds cool, but I'm worried Yang will be too on board with the idea."

Weiss chuckled at the prospect.

"Oh I'm sure. She'd probably come up with horrible puns about it as well," said Weiss, "I can already hear how… radiant her hair would become."

The image of Yang's fiery semblance glowing her hair unimaginably bright came to Jaune's mind.

"I guess she'd be too… hot to handle?" he said with a chuckle.

"…"

"…"

They made puns…

The two had horrified expressions…

'Yang must never know,' they both thought.

They'd never hear the end of it.

Just then, he realized he was having a rather pleasant conversation with Weiss, with jokes too. There was no snark, or ruthless attack of rejection. It was just nice, and a year ago he would have been in heaven for something like this to happen. Now though, he wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to bask in the feeling of speaking pleasantly with her, but then he was reminded of all the times he ignored Pyrrha and his heart felt heavy with grief.

"I don't suppose our teams could get together tomorrow. I trust Ruby's description of your semblances, but I'd like to hear firsthand how they work so I know what I'm amplifying," he suggested in a professional tone, in attempt to change the topic.

Weiss was quiet for a moment, and Jaune instinctively braced himself for a rejection.

"That sounds like a good idea," she said calmly, "Now that you've unlocked your semblance, we need to think about how you'll mesh with the rest of us in battle."

He released a sigh of relief.

"And…" she began, "Since we're on the subject of trying to figure out the best way to work together… I'll start by saying thank you."

"Thank you…? What for?" he asked, surprised.

"Before the battle, last week specifically, I made a promise to Yang. I promised that I would be there with her should Blake come back to us. You helped me keep my promise, and my friends… no, my family is back together. Thank you, Jaune," she said sincerely.

"It's…" he trailed off, "You're welcome Weiss. I'm glad your team is back together. You all deserve to be happy."

Weiss looked at him sadly.

"You do too," she continued, before she faced him fully and scooted closer, "She'd be proud of you, you know"

He froze.

"What?" his voice sounded meek.

"Pyrrha. If she could see how far you've come, she would be proud of you," Weiss clarified, "You've held your team together all this time, you unlocked your semblance, and you've grown strong. She would be positively beaming."

Jaune looked away, a flurry of emotions in his heart. But a gentle hand cupped his cheek and guided his gaze to meet its owner's.

"I know… we aren't very close, given our history, but I know loneliness when I see it. If I can help, or if you just want to talk about it, I'll happily make the time. I owe you that much, and more."

Jaune lowered his head in thought before facing her again.

"I'll… consider it," he said sincerely, "Thank you, Weiss. You're very kind to offer."

Weiss broke contact with his cheek, and gave a playful smile.

"Of course I am. I am the very soul of generosity," she said proudly, before her eyes softened after a moment, "I do mean it though. If you want to talk, let me know. Promise?"

"…I promise," he said after a moment.

He heard her giggle, and felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Then I'll hold you to it," she said.

He nodded to her.

"Well… if there's nothing else… would you like a snack? I'm sure the cafeteria is still open. You probably haven't eaten much at all."

"Well, I suppose I am hungry," he commented as the mention of food stirred his stomach.

"Perfect," she said, "Ruby and the others haven't eaten much either. Let's all go together. We can talk about the team combos you, Ruby, Ren, and Nora came up with. Speaking of which, you gave me enough power to summon the queen lancer. With enough aura, do you think I could summon two creatures at once?"

"Maybe…" he stopped, "You have an entire system for this idea planned out, don't you?"

Weiss scoffed.

"Obviously, what do you think I did for the past two hours after checking up on you?" Weiss paused for a moment, "I can show you my outline for it later, if you like."

Jaune chuckled.

"That sounds grand."

 **Another chapter done, and posted.**

 **The next chapter will be posted on Saturday 4/7/18.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, some good feedback so far. Thanks for the reviews guys, it means a lot. I felt the need to write this because as far as the development of JNR was concerned, it was very lacking in Volume 5. I get that the focus of the volume was on Team RWBY reuniting, and in all honesty I loved it when they did. However, after all the attention we got on Ren and Nora's backstory, Jaune coping with Pyrrha's loss, and the interactions within RNJR in V4, I wanted more character development for them such as more Ren and Nora interactions. I just hope V6 shows more is all I'm saying.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. It is the intellectual property of the late Monty Oum, and his team and friends at Rooster Teeth.**

Chapter 3 – Assault of the Clones

The training yard of Haven Academy was situated outside the school surrounded by bamboo groves and water fountains. The idea behind the design was that students could train their mind, body, and spirit while exposed to the glory of nature. Within the practice yard was a large, raised platform with a white cobblestone floor used exclusively for sparring. There, two people were about to square off against one, while several others were prepared to watch.

"Blake, will you please stop fidgeting?" asked Weiss, who was off to the side, pen and paper in hand.

'Easy for you to say. You're not the one being studied on stage,' she thought to herself.

Blake stood awkwardly with Jaune in the middle of the ring, as they waited for Sun to finish his stretches. Last night at the cafeteria, Weiss and Ruby had gone over what they would do for the next few days while Ozpin, or is it Oscar, recovers. She still couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that her former headmaster was reincarnated into a teenager's body, or the kinds of enemies they were up against. However, everyone who learned of Salem before her believed that Jaune's semblance could give them the boost they need to win against them.

His semblance was certainly interesting when her two teammates went in depth last night on the different ways it could be applied, especially toward semblances. She knew dust could change her semblance's very nature, so what would Jaune's aura do for her?

She turned to her sparring… helper? Jaune looked back and smiled awkwardly.

'Still, why do I have to go first?' Blake thought, then she remembered why.

Sun had actually insisted on having her be first on the list to try out Jaune's semblance. His argument had been that of all the people present, she had interacted with the blonde leader of JNPR the least and that it would be a great icebreaker for teamwork. She argued that it was the same for him, but Sun said that wasn't the case. After the dance at Beacon, Neptune would occasionally hang out with Jaune when he wasn't with Weiss for dance lessons that ultimately didn't go anywhere. Mention of her overly flirtatious ex put Weiss off a bit, but the ex-heiress along the rest of her team and JNR thought that Sun's argument was good enough to put Blake on the top of the list for today.

"So… now what?" Blake asked.

"Now, you spar with Sun. This is mostly an experiment to see how my semblance can affect you in combat so we can come up with strategies for fighting as a team. I also want to see if distance alters the connection, and devise ways to maintain it if it does," said Jaune.

Blake nodded before she turned to the direction her ears heard footsteps.

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" Sun whooped in excitement.

Sun pulled out his weapon, and Blake got into her own stance, and drew her sword in response. Ren stood off to the side, and waved a hand to begin. Sun launched himself, and as always, the monkey faunus was aggressive in his attacks. Blake focused on properly parrying blows, and sneaked counter attacks where she could in order to avoid a heavy melee encounter. Contrary to popular opinion a katana like hers wouldn't last long if she directly blocked attacks with it, and if it was as strong as it looked, the blunt force strikes of Sun's weapon would really chip away at the edge of her sword.

Sun suddenly split his weapon, and moved in. One half of the staff spun in the air, while the other part still in his hand twirled to build momentum. Blake moved her blade just in time to block the attack of the gun-chuck before it discharged. It was a classic move from Sun: distract the enemy with a flashy move, and move in for the kill. She had seen it dozens of times, but one needed to be focused to counter effectively, since Sun liked to randomize when and how the strike got delivered…

Now!

Sun had reached for the second gun-chuck as it twirled by his head. There was a subconscious delay in his attacks that lasted for brief moment. She moved in prepared to slash, and saw the grin on Sun's face. The moment the second weapon fell in his grasp, he jumped back and opened fire. She stopped mid-strike to block the round, but it was all Sun needed to get back in the game with renewed vigor.

"Nice try, Blake," he said in between his assault, "But you're… you're… deflecting my attacks?"

He sounded so confused, and then it dawned on her. She was deflecting _all_ of his attacks, and easily too. The only other person she had seen do that was Roman Torchwick, and even then the criminal had some trouble keeping up with Sun's assault. Sun had gotten much stronger since then though, and in their recent spars she had lost a few times. Yet, here she was, matching move for move, tracking Sun's movements as though Sun was moved at the same time she did, if not a little bit slower.

"Keep it up Blake!" cheered Ruby, "You too Jaune!"

Jaune…?

Of course, his semblance amplified aura. The aura of any huntsman or huntress was called upon in one of two ways. The first way was when they used their semblance, the second when they focused. Semblances were the most blatant, physical uses of aura that huntsmen could utilize. Weiss had mentioned that her more powerful summons required more aura and time to bring forth, but after Jaune used his semblance on her, the Queen Lancer practically flew from the glyph she used and into battle. The second way aura was used revolved around focus. Everyone, even normal civilians, focused when they did things, be it fighting or chores. For huntsmen and huntresses, focus subconsciously tapped into aura which gave them their enhanced reflexes and strength. Blake remembered back at school how Yang was able to lift heavy objects just by focusing for a moment, and right now in a combat situation Sun was able to attack in a ferocious and aggressive manner at a steady rate. With Jaune's semblance powering up her aura though, she could meet that aggression with her own countermeasures more easily.

"Pretty cool semblance," commented Sun, "But there's just one problem."

Sun reconnected his gun-chucks into its staff form, and knocked her weapon back. He pulled a Ruby, and shot the end facing down on the ground to give a boost to his own jump, and he leaped over her and made a beeline for the blonde knight, who had yet to draw his own weapon. Blake felt something leave her body as Jaune lowered his hands to his sword. She leapt after the monkey faunus since there was no way Jaune would be able to draw his sword on time to-

"Argh!" cried out Jaune, as he swung Crocea Mors.

Blake was surprised to see that Jaune did not draw his sword, but rather swing his weapon, sheathe and all, at the attacker. She was confused at first, until the edges of his sheathe jutted out slightly, and extended along the object with the telltale glint of a blade edge. His weapon was now capable of becoming a claymore?

The swing Sun delivered was totally knocked back, and the weapon left his hands shortly thereafter. The faunus backed away, and leapt to the side near his weapon. Blake saw this and made her way to Jaune.

"That's new," she commented.

"It is. Still not very good with it, but it was enough when I needed it," he replied, not breaking his gaze from Sun.

Blake turned to him.

"Can you still do what you were doing earlier? I have an idea," she stated.

"I can, but if he gets me, I'm done. I don't think a second time is going to fool him," he said.

"Don't worry, I won't let him sneak past me again," she said.

Jaune nodded, before planting his claymore into the ground. Blake rushed Sun, and felt the familiar tingling sensation from before. Jaune had powered her up, and she was going to capitalize on it. She normally wasn't one for aggressive approaches to combat. Her semblance, her weapon, they were meant to distract and confuse. She was an ambush fighter, a skirmisher. She took her shots when she could, and maintained a good distance from adversaries. In a straight up fight, Sun could easily overpower her, but if she could hold her own defending from Sun's onslaught earlier, she could probably take a riskier approach now.

She delivered a series of slashes at her opponent, all deflected, and when he was about to land a blow, she used her semblance. Sun's blow connected to Blake's "body" but she was already behind him when the weapon continued downward. Sun stiffened, and immediately pivoted to his left, where his staff wasn't. His momentum carried him to a full 180 degree turn, and their eyes met briefly. She was still a bit too far to land a blow with her sword, and Sun's staff had superior reach.

She was going to get hit.

She brought the blade close to her body to soften the incoming strike that was sure to-

"What the…?" Sun suddenly whipped around behind him, exposing his back to her.

She balked when he suddenly flew up at her, his head turned toward her with one eye closed as though he'd been punched. She cast another clone be avoid getting hit by a flying mass of blonde, and it took the hit for her. Sun thudded to the ground, while she landed gracefully. That's the last time she tried a head on fight with close to mid-range fighter. She was glad to have gotten out of that minor situation, and she supposed she could thank Jaune for…

"Huh?" said Blake in confusion.

Blake had thought Jaune lunged into the fray when Sun struck her first clone, and pivoted to face her. Her opponent's back faced Jaune at that moment, so it made sense. Standing where Sun flew from however was not the knight. Her eyes flicked over to Jaune, arms still up and powered, but looked just as stunned as she was. Her eyes shifted back, and saw her timely rescuer was in fact the doppleganger she thought got hit by Sun's staff. It was in a post punching pose before it stood upright, and sent her a smirk and a nod. Blake noticed that the clone had a shimmer of a white aura around her body.

"Jaune… is this your semblance's doing?" she asked, gesturing to the clone that now waved awkwardly at her.

"Um sure, I guess?" was his response.

He was unsure, but it made sense to her. Wait, if there was one clone standing there… She turned to Sun, who now groaned. Her clones normally disappeared upon being harmed, but there was another clone not too far from the monkey faunus getting up as well. Blake looked at the clone, and it… or rather, she looked back and waved awkwardly like the first one.

"Whoa what happened?" said Sun as he pushed himself up.

She made to move, and her two clones responded as well. When they all got to Sun he looked up.

Sun blinked.

He rubbed his eyes, and looked back up again.

"Blake…s?" he said, "I… I'm not seeing things, am I?"

"No…" she chuckled in disbelief at the situation, "I'm just as surprised as you."

"They're real…?"

Sun looked to all three Blakes in front of him, and decided to poke one in the nose. The real Blake frowned in annoyance, and idly thought it would be funny if the clone bit his finger in response.

 _Chomp._

"Agh, yeow!" Sun yelped as he cradled his finger.

Blake blinked, and turned to the clone, who winked at her.

'Did she just…' she trailed off before her thoughts turned to the spar.

When she was afraid – no, briefly surprised by Sun about to hit her, the clone she left behind to take the hit retaliated. When she moved to see if Sun was ok, both clones rushed to her side to check in on him. And when Sun poked the clone on the nose, to see if it was real, she had thought it would be amusing to see Sun get bitten. Were her clones responding to her thoughts?

The other two Blake clones looked at her and nodded.

'Like… right now?' she thought.

The two gave Cheshire grins in response.

"…This is so weird," was all she could say.

"That's so cool!" shouted Nora.

She turned around to see her team, and Jaune's approach them. Jaune approached more slowly than the others with his hands still extended out.

"That's enough Jaune, you can stop now," said Weiss.

Jaune obeyed the suggestion, and lowered his hands. His semblance deactivated, and the two Blakes faded into the air.

"That was awesome!" shouted Sun, who quickly recovered, "Blake, your doppelgangers were full on clones that can fight back. It was just like my semblance, but not as shiny. Do you know what you can do with that? Ambush tactics, distracting enemies on patrol, taking on multiple attackers…"

It did open up a whole new range of capabilities, and she saw Weiss was still feverishly writing down on her notepad.

"We can work it into Ladybug, Checkmate, and Bumblebee!" added Ruby with stars in her eyes, excited at the prospect of improving their team arrangements, "Weiss, we need a name for Jaune and Blake's combo. How about… Knightshade? Oh, maybe Silent Knight!"

"Ruby calm down, let's go through tactical suggestions before the codenames," scoffed Weiss.

"She's right, you know."

The enthusiasm died down as Ruby's uncle, Mr. Branwen, approached. With the death of Headmaster Leonardo, Qrow, as the highest ranked huntsman currently in the kingdom, served as acting headmaster until another Haven huntsman or huntress returned home to be elected by the council for the position. It was another reason why RWBY/RNJR was staying in Haven for the length of time that they were.

"Princess Snowflake has a point Shorty," he told Ruby, as he ignored Weiss' sputtering, "Blondie's semblance is pretty cool, and he can allow for a number of new options for you all, but Monkey Boy showed a big weak point. Unless he works on looking after himself while powering you all up with his new powers, he is vulnerable. The enemy now knows what he can do, and if I were them, I would make him target number one in the fight. Take out the medic, and the enemy has a lower chance of surviving the fight. Whatever formations, or plans you come up with, his safety should be factored in."

The excitement practically died, but that was a very compelling point. Blake slumped a little. She had gotten so engrossed in the battle, and her newfound strength that she overlooked looking after the one giving her support.

"Thanks for the feedback Qrow. I'll consider it when I talk with Weiss and Ruby later," said Jaune.

The expressions the two gave each other was… neutral, but the older huntsman nodded and went back into the Haven campus. Jaune then faced her with a more relaxed expression.

"Don't worry Blake, this was just a spar" said Jaune, "It's why we're doing this now, instead of figuring it all out in the field. I need to see how my semblance can affect everyone I fight with. The more I practice, the better I'll get, and the more I'll be able to look after myself."

She was relieved by his words, but still…

"No, he's right," said Blake, "We were a team just now. I should have kept an eye on you. I'm sorry."

He smiled lightly.

"Alright, apology accepted. We can talk more about how we can work together later tonight, after I get through everyone else."

"Everyone else?"

"Yep, I still have plenty of aura, and I intend to get a good idea of how my semblance can affect all of you."

His work ethic was admirable, but images of herself before the Vytal Festival entered her mind. Jaune seemed obsessed with getting stronger, and she knew his motivation: Pyrrha's death. He had a good reason to push himself, and she didn't doubt Jaune's reserves, but that didn't mean he should burn himself out either. She wasn't sure if she could stop him the way Yang stopped her, but maybe she could ease the stress he no doubt felt in another way.

"Alright, you go do that" she said to Jaune, "Although, maybe we can talk strategy in a more… relaxed setting."

"Huh?" asked Jaune.

"The cafeteria can get hectic, and your room is pretty cramped with all of us in there. Sun mentioned a place not too far from here: it's a tea house. I can call in a reservation for later tonight. We can work, undisturbed and in a calm environment," she suggested.

Jaune pondered, and turned to Ruby, who nodded happily at the idea.

"Alright, sounds fun," said Jaune, "Now, let's get back to work. You want to go next Ruby?"

"Yeah!" she crowed out.

Blake watched them all return to the yard to continue training, save one.

" _You_ want to hang out somewhere fun?" asked Yang, bemused at the concept, "Who are you, and what have you done with my old partner?"

"I got rid of her, or at least, I hope I did," she replied with a sad look, "She had a nasty habit of running from her problems after all. She hurt people because of that, and-"

A hand clapped onto her shoulder.

"You did hurt me, and it's going to take time to repair the trust we had," said Yang.

Blake's head fell a little in shame.

"But… you're here now, that's a good first step," Yang said a little more gently, "And I'm glad you managed to talk Jaune into going out, and making the strategies somewhere fun. Ruby's been worried he spends too much time in his room."

"I noticed," Blake said, "I just used what you taught me, and gave him a break."

"Are you saying _I_ inspired you?" Yang chuckled.

Blake rolled her eyes a little at that, and made her way back to the others to see what Jaune's semblance would-

"Whoa!" cried out Ruby

"Ruby! Are you ok?!" asked Jaune, worried.

Ruby's amplified Super Speed almost led her straight into a wall. Yang ran ahead and started to scold Ruby for forgetting to take proper precautions for semblance training.

Blake smiled.

It was good to be back with her friends.

 **A/N: No Jaune POV today. This was all about the one RWBY member to not say anything to Jaune at all in the series break the ice with him.**

 **Studier clones that could perform simple tasks would be my guess for Blake's enhanced semblance. Furthermore, the idea of enhanced focus also came into mind. In a lot of eastern martial arts, there is the use of chi, which could be another name for aura. Eastern martial arts often emphasize the balanced use of chi in conjunction with physical strikes to deliver attacks to their fullest extent.**

 **The next chapter will be up either next Saturday, or early in the following week.**

 **I hope you enjoy, and please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**The last RWBY chapter, as well as a transition for JNR.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. It is the intellectual property of the late Monty Oum, and his team and friends at Rooster Teeth.**

Chapter 4 – Yin and Yang

There was a small pagoda in one of the bamboo groves to the side of the Haven Academy training yard. It had a sparse interior save for a table by a window with burning incense, and two cushions in the middle of the floor where Jaune and Ren sat. Jaune inhaled the scent of the incense that filled the room and meditated as Ren guided him in the practice.

"Breathe in… out," said Ren, "Keep your eyes closed… In… Out… In… Out…"

Jaune did as his friend instructed.

"Focus on the sound of your breath… the running water from the pond fountain outside…"

It was pretty relaxing in Jaune's mind. He could see why his friend did this so often.

"Now, focus on yourself. Picture your aura… assign it an image in your mind… what do you see?"

"Can it be anything?" Jaune asked.

"It can be anything," said Ren.

"…A rabbit?" asked Jaune.

"Are you asking, or telling?" asked Ren.

"Uh… telling. I am picturing a rabbit," said Jaune.

"…Very well. What is the rabbit doing?" asked Ren.

"It's hopping around, sniffing flowers… nibbling on grasses," listed Jaune, before he sighed, "Ren, I get you like quiet meditation, but how does this help me with aura control?"

"Aura is the embodiment of the soul. Inward meditation helps us to connect and hone on our soul itself, and in deeper states, explore it. By doing this, we understand who we are as a person, which can strengthen our attunement to our aura."

"Nora and the others don't really do this," pointed out Jaune.

"True, but each person connects to their aura differently," said Ren, "I meditate, and in doing so, I discipline my focus, which helps me with little things that contribute to aura control. Without that focus, I'll do things that make me waste aura, or run out of it suddenly, just like what happened to you two days ago when you insisted on going through all of our friends' semblances."

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He pushed the experimentation of his semblance to the point of exhaustion before going to the teahouse that day. However, he could say that everyone learned just how his ability affected them all:

 _Ruby's speed boosted to the point where it looked like teleportation. It left a brief afterimage that made them wonder if she had moved at all. While impressive, it was clear it would take Ruby time to control such an enhanced ability. It was a good thing Yang insisted she set up Ruby's old training aid, a mattress propped up with bungee cables between two solid trees to cushion a hard impact, beforehand._

 _Weiss, answered her query from the night before the experiments, and was able to summon multiple entities at once. Her boarbatusk, and giant knight at her side made for an imposing image. However, even with Jaune's aid summoning multiple creatures took longer since it meant pouring aura into two different summoning glyphs at once._

 _Ren was able to spread his emotional cloak among the seven of them, but they also made an interesting discovery. With Jaune's amplification, Ren could excite emotions within other people. It was perfect for boosting morale among allies, or possibly instilling dread and fear within their enemies._

 _Nora, and Yang both received enhanced strength and reflexes, but their semblances had the most visually stunning effects out of everyone._

 _Nora could summon lightning with a simple swing of her hammer, but if she kept the swings up, the charge would become stronger. The more centrifugal force she built up before she finally delivered the blow, the greater the impact and the subsequent explosion of lightning._

 _Yang's result was a real game-changer for the brawler. Before, her semblance built up its charge based on her getting hit, so that when she was ready, she could deliver the damage back with interest. Now though, she could slowly build up her charge which each successful blow she delivered as well. In addition, because Jaune's semblance boosted aura's defensive properties, Yang could build up her charge the old-fashioned way for an even longer period of time._

 _Furthermore, before Jaune's aura at last got too low for him to continue, they learned the effective range of his semblance was a radius of 50 meters, and that he had to see them while he used it. The farther his target was from his semblance, the less effective the amplification process, however once he used it, they could break off to pursue other areas of the battlefield._

 _In all it had been a very productive, if exhausting, day…_

"Your reserves are massive, but not unlimited," continued Ren, "By learning to properly focus your aura, and applying it when necessary, you will not only be able to aid the others in battle when they need it, but you will have aura of your own to spare for yourself. Now close your eyes, and picture the rabbit again."

Jaune did so, and began to even out his breathing.

"Now, I'll walk you through things," began Ren, "Is the rabbit still hopping about, and doing its thing?"

"Yes."

"Now focus on the rabbit standing perfectly still… are you doing it?"

"Yes," said Jaune.

"Now make the rabbit stand on its hind legs," said Ren.

"…Done," said Jaune.

"Now earlier, when I asked you to assign an image to your aura, you did so and gave the abstract concept of aura a recognizable form. By doing this, you exert control. Furthermore I told you to have the rabbit do specific things. By having you imagine the rabbit do these as opposed to letting it follow its own instincts as you did before, you exerted further control over the abstract. This focus is the key to aura control. By building focus through meditation, you build control over how your aura circulates, how much is used, and so forth. Do you understand?" asked Ren.

"Yeah. So the more I concentrate while I use my semblance, the more in control I am," said Jaune.

"Yes, in general. There are whole manuals that go into specifics, but that will be for later on. For now, let's continue the exercise. Imagine your body is the rabbit's den…"

"…Okay," said Jaune.

"Ready?" asked Ren.

"Uh… a few more seconds."

"A few seconds can make all the difference in battle Jaune. You need to focus on demand," scolded Ren, "Now, picture the rabbit in its den."

Jaune pictured a rabbit's den shaped like him, and a rabbit sitting.

"Now… focus on the rabbit," said Ren.

Jaune did.

"…Your aura is the rabbit, and it's in your core," said Ren, which made Jaune mentally move the rabbit in the center of the den, "Move the rabbit down the tunnel that is your right arm."

Jaune pictured his rabbit-shaped aura move up from his core to his chest, before turning at the junction that led to the right arm.

"Do you feel anything?" asked Ren.

He could feel his chest swell slightly.

"Kind of..." said Jaune, his eyes still closed as he imagined the rabbit move.

"Is the rabbit going down the tunnel?"

"It's…" Jaune gasped as he felt a brief rush of power, "I felt it…"

"Good. Go deeper," said Ren, "Fo-"

 _SLAM!_

"Hey Jaune!"

Jaune's eyes jolted open at the sound of the pagoda's sliding doors suddenly slam. He and Ren turned to see Yang and Nora at the door with faces that tried to contain laughter.

"Hey Renny, we got a great idea for Jaune exercising his aura!" said Nora.

"Nora…" sighed Ren, "I already told you. I would take care of the aura exercises."

"Oh, we heard it alright," said Yang before adopting a deadpan expression, "You are the rabbit… go deeper into the hole…"

The dam burst, and Yang and Nora laughed.

"Well, it worked," said Jaune, defending his fellow man from the jokes of Yang, "I felt something go through my arm."

"Is that right?" asked Yang, with a smile, "Well then, if you don't mind putting it to the test, we have an aura exercise that could definitely help you out."

"Which is?" asked Jaune.

"An arm wrestling competition," said Nora.

"With yours truly," said Yang, who held up her metal arm.

Jaune stared at Yang, with an incredulous look on his face.

"So how about it Vomit Boy? Want to see how far you can really go?" she taunted.

"Yang, you and I both know you'll beat me at an arm wrestling contest," he said.

"Yeah, well that was before your semblance got unlocked. You enhanced Blake's capabilities so I know you can enhance your own. Plus it can be a good way to gauge how long your aura can actually last."

"I think the other day showed how long it lasted," said Jaune.

"No, it didn't," said Yang, "You lent us aura that we burned up by using our semblances. If you really wanna see how much aura you have for yourself, you need to push yourself to the limit, and then work from there. Besides, with me doing this, we can make it a multipurpose training exercise."

"Ok… how so?" asked Jaune.

"Bunnies aside… Ren's method is great. Visualizing your aura and telling it where to go through meditation is how most noobs do aura control exercises, and you seem better at it than me. In a fight though, well… let's face it, you aren't Ren. I can't picture you staying all calm and focused like that for at least another thirty years. A lot of things can go down in a fight, and you need to adapt constantly to everything. Arm wrestling is like a fight: it isn't all about strength, it's also about strategy, leverage, and psyching the opponent out," said Yang "In this little contest, you'll use Ren's method of aura circulation and see how well you apply your aura to all of your actions while you focus on an opponent. So how about it?"

Jaune turned to Ren, who sighed.

"They do say reality is the best teacher, and I suppose it could be more… _fun_ ," Ren pointed out.

Ren seemed a little glum, and Jaune couldn't help but feel bad.

"I… guess you make a good point. I – hey!"

Yang had grabbed his wrist and dragged him along to the side of the pagoda where the small table for the incense was. Nora put the incense jar to the side, and Yang sat Jaune down on one end of the table, while she sat on the other.

"Put 'em up Vomit Boy," she said.

Her metal arm was on the table, a literal gauntlet set between them.

Juane put up his own arm, and clasped her metal hand. Nora quickly slid in between the two.

"Now it begins! Man! Machine! Who will triumph?!" Nora announced.

"When you activate your semblance, I'll start," said Yang.

Jaune nodded.

"Let's get ready to rumble in three… two…"

Jaune pictured the rabbit going down the arm.

"Begin!" shouted Nora.

Jaune's aura flared, a brief glow lit the room up and Yang began to push. The small table rocked and creaked a little, but Jaune held firm. He and Yang looked at one another dead in the eyes. Every so often, the arms teetered back and forth. Sometimes Yang would push far, then be forced back, and the same would be for Jaune. What surprised Jaune, and his two remaining teammates, was that his pushes seemed to go farther than Yang's which made him more and more confident. This went on for around seven minutes when Yang grew a vicious smirk.

"Nice, firm, and still up… not bad Vomit Boy. If I'd known you could be this… _resilient_ , I'd have hooked up with you at Beacon," said Yang.

Jaune blushed at the innuendo, and for a moment, lost concentration. Yang capitalized on that, and pushed. Jaune almost lost, if not for a last minute save with his aura. He slowly got his arm to push back, and soon they were at the starting point again.

"Dammit Yang, what was that for?" Jaune growled

"I told you… leverage, strategy, and psyching out the opponent," said Yang, "Your turn."

"My turn?" Jaune grunted.

"Try to get under my skin Jaune. Like I said, arm wrestling and fights aren't just physical, they're psychological as well. If you can get your opponent to lose concentration like I did with you just now, you don't need to spend so much time and energy on them. You hear?" Yang grunted in between breaths.

"I see…" said Jaune, "Is it still my turn?"

"Duh…" replied Yang.

"Sorry, it's just you surprised me. I didn't expect you to be able to say 'psychological.' It's such a big word for you after all."

Yang blinked, and Jaune tried to move in. He was able to get Yang down an impressive 15 degrees, given his lost momentum, before she recovered. She managed to get both of their arms upright when she smiled a little.

"Amateur, but a nice start," said Yang, "I bet you barely had to use much strength or aura to force my hand that much just now."

"It was easier, I'll admit," grunted Jaune.

"Well, a word of advice. The next time you see an opening like that, don't be afraid to capitalize on it. If you put all your aura into that push, you could have ended it… maybe."

"Got it," said Jaune.

"Then again, with aura and semblances, it's also good to know when to push and when to hold back. It's kind of a balancing act. Let's take a break for a sec, and you'll see what I mean," said Yang, who let go as soon she as she finished her words.

It took Jaune a second to catch up with the action. He felt a soreness throughout his right arm, but before he could massage it, Yang took it into her hands.

"You've probably been pumping aura in since we started," she began, before she placed his hand on her shoulder, "How about me? Can you tell?"

Jaune closed his eyes, used his semblance… and his eyes opened.

"You've used up a lot, but… you don't seem to be sore like me," said Jaune.

Yang nodded.

"I've trained my aura control for years, plus I'm a hand to hand fighter with a dash of brawler. Out of all of us, I'm the most physically fit after Nora," began Yang, "Because of this, I don't need much aura to enhance my strikes, or to bolster my muscles. I mean, when we first started, I had to use more than I normally would. That initial push you gave surprised me. However, once my aura bolstered my shoulder and arm, and our pushes evened out, I took a more conservative approach with my aura use. It was a good strategy… at least until things changed and it wasn't."

"Wasn't?"

"I thought I could wait it out, but then I realized you were constantly pumping aura into that arm of yours while mine was going down faster. I might still be physically stronger than you and your aura control isn't that great, but your reserves are much bigger than mine which means you can outlast me. I had to break your momentum, to get a shot at ending it sooner," said Yang.

Jaune took a moment to analyze Yang's method of thought during her play by play. He had come off strong, and Yang responded strongly in turn. However, as Yang mentioned, arm wrestling wasn't always about strength. In this particular contest, it was about who had the best focus, and more importantly, the best control over their aura. Ren had explained that aura control was as much a mental action as well as a physical one. It was simple to understand the idea when one thought about it, but with Yang he had seen it put to practical use. She learned midway in a straight out battle of aura, his reserves could trump hers. So rather than rely on physical action to whittle him down, she switched up her strategy and resorted to a psych out to weaken his own concentration.

"…I see, but did you have to use _that_ kind of taunt," groaned Jaune.

"If it hurts, it works," said Nora.

"You did almost lose," said Ren.

"Thanks guys," grumbled Jaune.

"You liked it," Yang scoffed flirtatiously before she turned serious, "There is one more thing I wanted to teach you though, regardless of whether or not you won. It's an important lesson I learned when it came to semblances, considering how hard you pushed yourself the other day."

Jaune saw Yang's expression, and he gave her his full attention.

"What is it?" asked Jaune

"When I first unlocked my semblance, I was over the moon. I felt like nothing could stand in my way. Even now, it still gives me that first rush of power I experienced all those years ago," Yang began wistfully, "When the fights got tough, I would always fall back on it, and it would always carry the day. That is, until I met someone stronger than me, or at least, more focused than me at the time."

Before Jaune could say anything, he saw Yang remove her arm, and showed him the stub. The stretch of the skin as it been folded over to cover the wound, and the scars from the stitching were what stood out the most as the image burned in Jaune's mind. He, Nora, and Ren remained silent, and waited for Yang to continue.

"Blake said that during the attack on Beacon and Vale, Adam stabbed her not just to get my attention, but so that I would react the way he wanted me to," she paused, "Cinder and her allies studied me, studied us all. I didn't know who that guy was, and I went in blind… I learned the hard way that my semblance had its limits, and that I had become too reliant on it."

"I'm sorry," was all Jaune could say.

"Don't worry," said Yang, "Blake sent him running, and humiliated, so my pride's been avenged along with my arm. The point is, your semblance can make you feel invincible, especially after the first couple days you unlock it. However, don't turn yourself into a one trick pony because of it. Remember, leverage, strategy, and psyching out the opponent. If there's an alternative solution for victory, go for it. I know you've got the brains for something like that."

"I see," said Jaune, as Yang reattached her arm.

It was a good lesson to learn, and it reminded Jaune of something. He had gotten this far by relying on his own wits and skills. His semblance was a recently acquired tool, one that needed to be exercised and studied, for certain. That being said, he couldn't neglect the same training that got him to this point. He had to work on both, and would have to come up with a training regimen with Ren and Nora.

"Thanks Yang… that was very helpful."

He said it sincerely, which made his fellow blonde grin with delight. Yang was then caught off guard by the determined look Jaune gave her. He put his arm back up on the table.

"Care to pick up where we left off…?" he challenged.

Yang smirked.

"You want to go again?" she asked, "Brave. Most guys think I'm too hot to handle."

"I'm an Arc, Yang," said Jaune, "I can go for as many rounds as I need to… and more."

He winked, getting Yang to flush a little and Nora to giggle.

"Well, that was better than the last one. Heh… you're a far cry from the bumbling dork from Beacon," said Yang.

"Things happened, and my friends needed me. I can't afford to stay the same," said Jaune solemnly.

"No, none of us can," agreed Yang, as she clasped his hand.

"Rematch in three… two… one… Go!" cried out Nora.

xXxXx

After thirty minutes of arm pushing, Yang's flirting, and Jaune's one-liners, the two blondes were panting as Jaune finally secured victory, and Yang couldn't help but be impressed.

"Thirty minutes… the most someone's… gotten with me was ten before I beat them. Good job, Jaune," Yang said in between breaths as she stretched her right shoulder.

It truly was a good job on his part. All throughout their contest, Jaune constantly learned and experimented on when to apply aura to his actions, and how much. His progress would have been frightening, were it not for the fact he was on their side.

"Is this… the first time… someone else came out on top," said Jaune wearily.

Yang smiled at Jaune's jab.

"Contest's… over, but don't worry Jaune," said Yang as she got up, "Mama will let you enjoy the honor of beating me. We're both on fumes… and I want you _standing ready_ for the next round when I take back my title."

"I wasn't trying to… just now…" Jaune groaned, "Ugh, you are… an evil woman… you know that?"

"Aww, I love you too," Yang flirted right back before turning to Ren, "All yours Ren. I think that meditation stuff is good for him during down time. It's perfect for getting him to center himself and all that jazz."

"It will be. Tiring him out will certainly help with the process as well. It will get him to enter deeper states of meditation, and connect with his aura more," said Ren, "Nora, can you help me sit him upright?"

"You got it!" said Nora, "Thanks for helping Yang."

"No problem," said Yang, before she turned to Jaune, "Later _Mr. Muscles_."

"Jaune, did you hear that? You got a new nickname!" said Nora.

"I heard," groaned Jaune as Ren sat him upright, "Yang, wait…"

Yang faced her fellow blonde.

"Yeah?"

"Something you said earlier… your arm can circulate aura?" asked Jaune.

"Atlas cybernetics," said Yang, "They're designed with huntsmen and huntresses in mind. Why?"

She saw Jaune hum in thought…

"I just thought of something… thanks for clarifying for me," he replied.

Yang nodded, and wondered kind of idea she gave him.

 **A/N:**

 **I racked my memory of all the meditation exercises I ever took for Ren's portion of the chapter, as well as what I remember watching Naruto's chakra control exercises from over the years. The principles of chi/chakra/aura seem to be pretty universal in traditional martial arts, so it should work out fine… I hope.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all liked the chapter, especially the arm wrestling scene. The "montage" is almost over, which is part of the projected 2-3 chapters I have left _Team ANVL_. I haven't done a draft for them though, so it will be a while before they come out. I will finish this story though, I promise.**

 **Thank you, and please review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**For those of you who follow this story, I apologize for the delay. Between work, and "Into the Arc-hive" I've been putting off the the update for this. However, with the last 2 – 3 chapters, including this one, in my head, I will have this story done in the coming days or week.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. It is the intellectual property of the late Monty Oum, and his team and friends at Rooster Teeth.**

Chapter 5

Jaune, Nora, and Ren went to the workshop of the Haven Forge Master.

Ever since the arm wrestling training with Yang the day before, Jaune had been curious about aura application to his weapon. He had made improvements to Crocea Mors in their journey through Anima, and since they were going to go to Atlas, he hoped the quartermaster could give him advice on any Atlas tech he could get to help facilitate aura conduction to his old-fashioned blade.

Jaune knocked on the door, and waited a moment before he knocked again.

"Hello?" he asked, as he peered in.

There was a counter with a bell, and two doors, one behind the counter, and another to the side with plaques that said "Forge – Authorized Members Only." The door behind the counter had a light above that said "At Work," while a small desk sign by the bell read "For Assistance, Please Ring."

"I guess we ring the bell," commented Ren.

Jaune did so, and they could hear a loud noise from behind the door.

"That was pretty loud," said Nora.

"I wager they have to be louder than the forge's furnaces," said Ren.

Almost immediately, the light went off, and the three stood a little straighter. As the door opened, they were surprised when they saw no one walk through as the door closed. They still heard footsteps on the floor, and they approached the counter and realized there was a small podium, and a short man get on it through a stepper. He had a red beard, red hair, a stout muscular body, and blacksmiths apron over his white shirt and black pants and boots.

"Greetings," said the smith, "I'm Smith Haroldson IV, Forge Master to Haven Academy. What can I do for you – OH! I know you lot. You're from that group that exposed Lionheart."

The three winced a little.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm not upset," dismissed Smith, "Helping the likes of the White Fang. Good riddance to that fool. Now then, down to business. What brings you to my forge?"

"Well, it's my sword," said Jaune as he presented Crocea Mors to Smith who took a good look at it.

"Ho-hoh, this is a fine blade," said Smith, "Pre-war era by the look of things, and very well-kept. What do you need help with?"

"You see, I was wondering if you could give me some advice on improving my weapon to help with aura conduction. I know Atlas has tech that makes it easier, and I was hoping you had suggestions."

Harold's jaw fell in horror.

"You want to what?!" he yelped in shock.

"Er… I want to improve my-"

" _Improve?_ More like desecrate!" said Smith, "Lad, do you even know what you have?"

"Uh… A sword?" Jaune ventured, "It's been passed down the family for generations. All my father ever taught me about the blade was how to take care of it, and the history of the blade with the family.

"Special' is an understatement, lad," sighed Smith, "Well, I suppose I can't fault you too much for not knowing. Most huntsmen and huntresses in training aren't engineers, or at the very least, are engineer enough to build and maintain their gear. You'd need to be a master smith like myself, or a top tier engineer, to recognize a weapon made from Castle Steel."

"Castle Steel?" asked Ren.

"See? You prove my point," said Smith with a gesture to Ren, "Castle Steel was the standard material for all huntsmen and huntress weapons of the Kingdom of Vale before the Great War. It was an alloy made from a variety of metals that made it stronger, more resilient than normal materials. The minerals within also allowed for rudimentary aura conduction. Nothing fancy like you'd see in today's high-tech weapons, but enough to make the weapon a reliable companion in the huntsman's arsenal. You could say it's the granddaddy of the materials used in today's weapons."

"What's the difference between the two?" asked Jaune.

"Quality," answered Smith, "Castle Steel ingots were cast in forges monitored by the royal guard, and certified by that forge's guild master with a brand bearing royal seal hammered in the corner. See, in those days, huntsmen from all the kingdoms were nobles. They trained as soon as they were able to walk in a variety of fighting skills, and were able to commission weapons of only the finest quality. While every kingdom had their own native material to work with, Castle Steel was so sought after, that other kingdoms wanted such weapons as a part of the bride price for marriage alliances, and it was tough enough that the weapons forged from it were still viable even in the Great War when firearms got their stride. The legendary sword used by the last king of Vale? Castle Steel."

The trio marveled at the story, Jaune especially. He knew the family sword was special, that it was commissioned for his great-great-grandfather by the Crown Prince of Vale upon his knighting ceremony. To hear that it was made from such a quality material made it even more special.

"After the war, the composition was shared among the nations, since we moved to a more cooperative view in terms of international affairs. Mantle, later Atlas, was the only other nation who could come close to the master smiths of East Sanus, and with their advances in mass production, modern huntsmen weapons are made from a… competent equivalent in Atlas factories."

Ren and Nora, who remembered Smith saying Castle steel was a quality material, immediately looked at their weapons with uncertain looks, which got a laugh from Smith.

"Don't worry you two, you're weapons are fine, though the Forge could make improvements to them if you like," said Smith, "The weapons made from Atlas materials aren't bad quality, just not the quality they would have been back in the day. Atlas takes a couple of shortcuts to make it affordable for the mass of students that apply to the combat schools every year. Cutting corners is also what makes it easier to supply parts for mecha-shift weapons as well. Because such a weapon tries to combine the modes and modifications of each hunters' needs and wants, the metals are cut thinner to make it lighter. Not to mention all the fiddly parts, and mechanisms to worry about."

"So, I don't need improve it," said Jaune.

"Not at all. I mean, a blade can always be improved, but outfitting it with high tech doodads is something even the Atlesians wouldn't recommend. To my knowledge, there are only three places that still work Castle Steel: the wealthy parts of Vacuo, Northern Anima, and the provinces of Seine and Hadria of Vale. You make one mistake with outfitting such a weapon, and you'll need a travel ticket just to get it fixed."

Seine: home, for Jaune at least.

"Guess outfitting is out of the question," he said, "Can you at least see if there's anything you can do to sharpen or improve it?"

Smith examined Crocea Mors thoroughly.

"The handle needs some tightening. Hmm… A mechanism to keep the blade in the sheath, mechanical though, and separate from the actual weapon. Animan design too," said Smith.

"Oh, right. I got a smith to make my sheath into a claymore extension," said Jaune.

"I was wondering what Animan designs were doing on a Valean longsword. May I see the sheath?" asked Smith.

Jaune presented it to him, and the smith chuckled.

"Very nice. See this is the sort of improvement that belongs on a classical weapon like yours. When upgrading, look for ways to _enhance_ your gear, don't change it. You can't turn a sword into bazooka, or you may as well start off with that or get a mechashift," explained Smith, which got a nod from Jaune, "Now this sheathe… there's a bit of warp on the blades along the sides, as well as the sheathe itself. Extreme heat from fire damage most likely… I'll need to straighten those out with my forge and hammer. It should be ready in a couple of hours, although, if you're still interested, maybe we can talk about other ways to improve your weapon."

"Thanks! Oh, can you please take a look at my friends' stuff too while you're at it?" asked Jaune.

"We'd greatly appreciate it," said Ren.

The two presented their weapons as well, and the Quartermaster chuckled.

"I'll see what I can do. I have an engineer on break who'll take a look at your gear. Let's head to the back so that we can brainstorm."

xXxXx

Sun was running through the halls of Haven Academy with great news in hand, which was a welcome break for him. While he would have never admitted it before, Sun had once considered Lionheart an inspiration: a faunus huntsman, the first to made the headmaster of one of the four academies. He had shown the world that a faunus could overcome the challenges of discrimination, and achieve greatness, without resorting to force and intimidation. Now though, it was something he would only say in past tense.

After what went down with Lionheart, being part of some conspiracy, those huntsmen sent to their deaths and allowing the White Fang to set up bombs in Haven, in _his_ school…

He had been in a funk ever since. Normally his team would be the one to cheer him up, but Scarlet, Sage, and Neptune had been out of town since the Fall of Beacon as they protected their respective hometowns in the countryside. He trained hard instead, like with Jaune a while back, and he also had Blake, who did offer to talk to him to air things out if he needed it. He took it up, and while she did listen to a few of his concerns and offer her own words of comfort, he had the feeling she knew something more than he did.

No matter. He trusted Blake, and knew that eventually, she would open up.

In the corner of his eye…

'Well what do you know,' thought Sun, "Hey, Blake!"

Blake was walking with Weiss, and the two turned in his direction at the sound of his voice.

"Sun? Why are you running? Did something happen?" asked Blake.

"Yeah… Guess what?" began the monkey faunus as he caught his breath, "We have… a new Headmistress for the Academy coming."

"Really?" asked Blake.

"Yeah, she just called from a radio in a town not too far from Haven, about half an hour's flight. They're just making a pit stop to let her brother take a break from the long flight over," clarified Sun.

"That's excellent news," said Weiss.

"Yes… it is," said Blake with a relieved sigh, "Haven should not remain leaderless like Beacon, given what happened recently."

"Say do you know where that Qrow guy is?" asked Sun.

"Not really," said Blake at the mention of Yang and Ruby's uncle, "Why do you ask?"

"Just that he told me to get him as soon as word of Haven's new head was nearby," said Sun.

"Mr. Branwen has been the acting headmaster, maybe he's in Lionheart's old office," suggested Weiss.

Just then, a blur of yellow and red arrived, and the three turned to see Yang and Ruby. Ruby looked like she ran a marathon, and had a worried expression on her face.

"Guys have you seen Oscar?" asked Ruby, "He's not in his room."

Blake sighed.

"I guess we better start looking," said Blake.

xXxXx

After a productive meeting with the Forge Master, Jaune and his team toured the campus of Haven.

"So what do you think will happen when I put aura into my blade while I use it?" asked Jaune, "I'm thinking it could make my blade sharper."

"It could, but only if you focus it toward the edge, I think," replied Ren.

"Ooh… or maybe you can shoot out slicing aura blades! Like in those Mistral cartoons Ren pretends he doesn't watch," said Nora.

"Nora…" groaned Ren.

Jaune laughed a bit, but thought about it.

"Oh, hey there's an idea. Ren, know any good ones?" asked Jaune.

"Jaune, those cartoons are fantasy. Unless you have a semblance that can do that, I doubt you could sling slicing aura blades with a sword," said Ren calmly, "And I don't watch those cartoons."

"That's not what that video on your scroll the other night says," said Nora with a tease, "Hey look, isn't that Oscar?"

Jaune and Ren looked off to the side, and saw the young farmboy walking aimlessly through the courtyard. When Oscar saw them, his face lit up, and he waved a little awkwardly.

"Yeah, definitely Oscar," said Jaune, who waved back.

No way would Ozpin wave at a person like that.

Oscar approached the trio with a jog, and stopped in front to catch his breath.

"Oscar, shouldn't you be resting?" asked Ren.

"I… should," said Oscar, "But I've been in bed for days. I need some air, and sunshine."

"That makes sense. I couldn't imagine how nuts you had to be going, all cooped up in the nurse's office," said Nora.

"So, are you all better now?" asked Jaune.

"I'm at least well enough to walk," said Oscar, "You know, Ruby mentioned that you were training a lot recently. Is that true?"

"Yeah," answered Jaune, "Ever since I got my semblance, I've been experimenting to see what it can do."

"Can I train under you?" asked Oscar.

Jaune blinked in surprise, along with Ren and Nora.

"I'm sorry, what?" asked Jaune.

"Well, um, can you train me to get strong?" asked Oscar, "Out of everyone in the group, I think you're the best fit to give me tips."

"Uh… why?" asked Jaune, "I mean, I'm surprised, and flattered you think I can train you, but you have Ozpin in your head, not to mention Qrow's willing to help you out too."

"Well, most of Ozpin's instructions involve me giving up control of my body for a bit, and me repeating what he does. Sometimes he demonstrates too hard, and my body winds up sore from how much my muscles are moved," said Oscar.

"Professor Ozpin does have an agile fighting style," commented Ren.

"As for Qrow… Ruby said it would be better if I got stronger first before asking him," said Oscar, "Also, Ruby was the one who recommended you when I asked for someone who could help me get stronger."

"Ruby recommended me?" asked Jaune.

"Yeah," answered Oscar, "According to her, you didn't' have any training to begin with, but you're here with everyone else. Not to mention, she said you can come up with fighting plans almost instantly, and that it's your thinking that helped RNJR out with some of their battles after the fall of Beacon Academy. If anyone can give me help in getting strong fast, it's going to be you."

Jaune was honestly touched Ruby thought so highly of him. Still, teaching…

"I want to get stronger," said Oscar, "That last battle showed me that even with Ozpin's help, there's only so much I can do. If nothing else, can you maybe give me some pointers," said Oscar, a little desperate.

Jaune mulled Oscar's words over.

"I think you should do it," said Nora in one of her rare, sober tones. Jaune looked to the ginger girl next to him, "We were up against a real beast of a guy. Not to mention that crazy scorpion dude we ran into on the way to Mistral. Any little bit of extra training from all of us can give us a real boost in our chances."

"I concur," said Ren, "Furthermore, in teaching others, you learn more about your own strengths and weaknesses. It will be a good experience for both of you."

"Hmm…" thought Jaune, "I'll… I'll think about."

Oscar looked at him hopefully, and Jaune had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn't say "No" in the end.

"At the very least, I'd need to figure out how the training sessions would be done, and we'd have to spar to see what we can start working on."

"Thanks!"

"There you are," said a grizzled voice.

Oscar whipped around and saw Qrow standing over him with his arms crossed.

"Ack… Qrow!" yelped Oscar, "How'd you find me? I was careful…"

"I'm a veteran huntsman. Ozpin wouldn't pay squat if I couldn't find a fourteen year old kid," said Qrow, "That, or I'm just that lucky. You sure you should be up?"

Oscar sighed.

"I'm well enough to walk," said Oscar.

"So you are. You needed to stretch your legs or something?" asked Qrow.

"Yeah, that, and get some fresh air," said Oscar.

Qrow made a noise of understanding.

"Anyway, I'm here to tell everyone to come with me to the house. Broody's boyfriend got some news, and we all need to be present. Ozpin especially, so we can make our next move," said Qrow.

Everyone went serious at the mention of Ozpin's name.

"So, we're leaving for Atlas soon?" asked Ren.

"Seems that way. Let's get back so we can all talk about it," said Qrow.

The four followed Qrow when the older man walked away.

…

In the living room of the house, Sun stood before RWBY, Oscar, and JNR, with Qrow behind him.

"So yeah, the new headmistress will be coming around tomorrow morning," said Sun in the living room of the house RNJR, Weiss, and Yang had been staying at.

"That's great," said Ruby, "But if they aren't far from Haven, why take a break?"

"Her little brother was on vacation with her, and needs to rest. He's got some kind of medical condition, and the sudden journey from Vacuo put a lot of stress on him," said Sun.

"So, who is this lady?" asked Qrow, "The Haven Council was very hush-hush about the search for a new head of Haven. No surprise, given what went down."

Sun nodded grimly.

"Midori Miyamoto," said Sun, "She was one of Haven's best students. She graduated the year before I became a freshmen, but she's got awards all over the school's Hall of Fame room."

"She'll be the youngest head of an Academy," commented Blake.

"Young, but she's got twenty five missions to her name, and according to some of the combat teachers she was part of two colony initiatives with MEI," said Sun.

"Who's Mei?" asked Ruby.

"Mistral Expansion Initiative," clarified Qrow, "They insert troops in places in Anima viable for colonization. Small-scale stuff; nothing grandiose like Mountain Glenn. The hunters that are part of the initiative are some of Mistral's best, and under the jurisdiction of the military, which is a separate body from the council here in Mistral."

'Well that explains why Lionheart didn't send her to her death,' thought Jaune.

"So, she's got the experience," added Yang, who became a little uncertain after a moment, "She does have it, right?"

"Probably not. Skill wise, she does, but teaching and politics? This girl's a warrior first and foremost, but Haven doesn't have much choice," commented Qrow, "Thanks kid, for letting me know. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to have a private planning session."

"Wait, I can't stay for this part?" asked Sun, in disbelief.

"No," said Qrow flatly.

Jaune saw the look of frustration on Sun's face. Jaune also saw a conflicted look on Blake's face, like she wanted to say something, but couldn't. Qrow's stare became more pointed, and Sun just bit his tongue, sighed, and walked off. As soon as the door closed, Blake growled.

"You didn't have to kick him out," she said.

"We're going to talk about our plans, and I don't know him," said Qrow

"So, what's the plan then?" asked Jaune, before Blake could cut in.

Oscar's eyes glowed a little.

"Now…" began the young farmhand, "Now we prepare to leave for Atlas."

It looked like Ozpin was back.

"How do you intend to do that?" asked Weiss, "General Ironwood has my homeland on lockdown, and he has ceased all business and communication with the outside world."

"The same way you got out," commented Qrow, "We pay a smuggler to get us to the kingdom. I know a few from back when I was a member of the Branwen tribe, and they all owe me favors."

"I get the feeling that it's not going to be as easy as we think," said Yang.

"No one said it would be," said Qrow, "But it's the best option we have at the moment. Mistral has the best smugglers around. If anyone can get us to Atlas, it's them."

"Why not just send a letter to Ironwood?" asked Jaune, "The CCT may be down, but lockdown or no, postal services are still active."

Qrow snorted.

"Jimmy doesn't like me, so any attempts to try to communicate with him will be shot down before he opens a message," said Qrow, "Maybe if I could get in contact with Glynda, she could send him a letter, but that'll take way too long. And before you ask, I didn't send any letters to Jimmy because I had no idea when, or if Haven would get a new headmaster. Knowing the good general, he would set up a timetable that would have been difficult to make."

"Regardless. Now that we know Haven is in safe hands," began Ozpin, "We should prepare our departure immediately. Miss Belladonna, please take the time to say your farewells."

"I don't see why Sun and Ilia can't come," said Blake, "Sun helped me in Menagerie against the White Fang, and Ilia knows Atlas. They could help us."

"The more people involved, the more targets we give to Salem," answered Ozpin simply, "I know what she does to her captives too. I would not wish it on those who have helped."

"They're already involved," piped up Jaune, to the surprise of Blake, "I mean, they arrived with an army of faunus from Menagerie, and foiled the plans of their ally, The White Fang. It's a little too late for secrecy. I agree with Blake, they should help us."

Blake nodded to Jaune, thankful for his input.

"Be that as it may," began Ozpin, "A larger group will be harder to hide on a smuggler's vessel."

"Well, it wouldn't be a problem for the best smugglers of Mistral. Right, Uncle Qrow?" asked Ruby, who joined in on the idea of Sun and Ilia coming.

"Also, now that we have a relic, we'll need more help than ever protecting it," said Yang.

Qrow paused for a moment.

"…I don't know about monkey-boy, he's not exactly subtle, but the girl could give us intel," allowed Qrow, "What' do you think, Oz?"

Ozpin was quiet.

"…I suppose it's something to consider," said Ozpin, "When do you meet your contacts?"

"I was thinking tomorrow afternoon. As soon as the new head of the school gets here," said Qrow.

"I'll have an answer by then, I suppose. Until tomorrow, we're dismissed," said Ozpin.

The shine in Oscar's eyes dwindled, and the boy slumped a little.

"Ugh… that's still going to take some getting used to," said Oscar.

"You're not the only one trying to get used to that," said Blake.

"It was pretty freaky when we first saw it," said Ruby.

"Try living it," groaned Oscar, "Fortunately, he still needs a little bit of rest before he can do what we did against Hazel."

"Thank you for supporting me," said Blake to Jaune.

"You don't have to thank me," said Jaune bashfully, "I mean, from a tactical perspective it makes sense. The more fighters we have, the better off we are. Besides, you said your friend Ilia knows Atlas, or at least parts of Atlas Weiss might not be familiar with. Her insight could help out a lot."

"Indeed" said Weiss, "However, let us be clear, while I will have no issue with her should she come with us, it will be difficult to work with her unless she keeps her scowls to herself."

"I'll talk to her, let her know what's up," said Blake.

"Oh… I know what we can do to help break the ice!" piped up Ruby, "A team shopping trip in town."

Ruby's team looked at her skeptically.

"You want us to take Ilia shopping? With Weiss?" asked Yang, "That might not be the best idea."

"It will be when Blake's mom comes for us," said Ruby.

Blake, Yang, and Weiss stared at her incredulously.

"Wait, what do you mean?" asked Blake warily.

"…She didn't tell you? Oh, um well, you see Blake…" Ruby began with a nervous laugh.

Suddenly the door burst open, to reveal Kali Belladonna with a resigned Ghira being dragged along with her.

"Hey! This is a private – oof!"

Kali literally shoved Qrow away

"Blake! I'm here to meet your team!" she announced.

"Mom?"

"Eh-heh," Ruby's nervous laugh drew her team, "Your mom wanted to take us shopping. She insisted…"

"Mom!" whined Blake, "You've already met my team. I introduced you, remember?"

"Pshhh… Please," scoffed Kali, "Listing names is hardly an introduction. I want to get to know your teammates, your friends, better, and what better way to do that than with some shopping. After all, you hardly ever spent any time with us, _your loving, supportive parents_ , when you got involved with the White Fang more. I mean, it's not like it would kill you to have _one meaningful day_ with us, and your friends."

Blake's ears folded down in distress, and had a guilty expression.

"Actually…" began Qrow, "We kind of have to get ready to go-"

"Oh, is that why Sun looked so sad? Poor boy, and after all he's done to help us, too," commented Kali, "Well, now that I know what Blake's going to do, I just know I have to move this activity to today. I haven't bonded with my daughter for quite some time. Surely you wouldn't deny me the opportunity to spend some time with her… _Would you_?"

Kali gave him a dazzling smile, but the tone of her voice put Qrow on edge.

"Err…"

Qrow's eyes met Ghira's. The burly faunus just shook his head as if to say: "Don't even think about it. You won't win."

"We could use one day of fun," said Ruby, with adorable eyes, "Relieve some stress before going off, and all. Besides, a certain someone did say Blake should make her farewells."

"…Okay, fine," said Qrow with a sigh, 'Just my luck,' he thought.

"Great!" said Kali, delighted, "Come on girls, and don't worry about money. Ghira's paying."

"Yes dear…" sighed Ghira.

Blake sighed, and followed her parents out. Weiss followed, along with Yang.

"Well… I guess we'll see you guys later," said Ruby, who went after them.

"Later, have fun!" said Nora.

"Don't worry Mr. Belladonna. We'll try not to break the bank," they heard Yang say, which got a loud groan from the other man.

"Well, I guess we better get a head start on packing," said Jaune, "That way, we can spend the rest of the day worry free."

"Oh, maybe we can go out later!" chirped Nora.

"After we pick up our weapons of course," said Ren.

"While you three do that, I might as well get the final paperwork ready for the girl tomorrow for the official hand off," said Qrow with a sigh.

"Will she learn the truth? Miss Midori, I mean," asked Jaune as Qrow walked away.

"Normally Ozpin takes care of that," answered Qrow, "But he's too weak still, and with the politics she'll have to deal with, it would be better for the girl to take a few years without having to worry about that."

Jaune nodded.

"Anyway, we're burning daylight," said Qrow, "The sooner we wrap things up here, the more we can enjoy our final moments of relaxation."

xXxXx

Salem reclined in her chair, a seer by her side.

Despite her casual position, she was anything but relaxed. Hazel had returned, and had offered up his life to her in exchange for his failure. Salem however, was not in the mood for such a pointless display of penance. She still had use for Hazel, and with the loss of Cinder, she would need him more than ever. Cinder's thralls had their uses as well, particularly the young lady, who seemed to burn with a desire to kill, and destroy.

She would find uses for them yet, but first...

"So… that's Leonardo's replacement?"

Her seer showed her the image of a young woman practicing with her naginata in the hills of Anima. She hide lime-green hair done in a low ponytail, and wore a dark brown hakama with her white kimono.

"She must be quite skilled for her age to be considered as Leo's replacement" said Salem.

Ozpin likely hadn't left Haven yet, though knowing him, he would try to. She could not afford to allow him to take the relic out of Haven, but at the same time, she was a little low on manpower…

"Back to basics," she said, "Kill her."

…

On the other side of the seer, a large horde of beowolves heard the command, and howled.

 **A/N: One chapter down, one or two to go. See you all next week.**

 **Miscellaneous Notes:**

 **The origin I had for Jaune's blade, from material to its forging is all part of head canon I came up for the Arc Family.**

 **"Castle Steel" is a fictional material I made up. It is a reference to Toledo Steel, a famous alloy from the Spain that was used in sword making. Since the Roman era, Spain was famous for it high-quality swords, which were made famous during the Second Punic War between Hannibal and Rome.**

 **Midori Miyamoto, is a play on Musashi Miyamoto, the famous samurai who was undefeated in the dueling scene of medieval Japan, and the author of the** _ **Book of Five Rings**_ **. Miyamoto was know for his unconventional tactics, and his famous two sword style, which is still practiced in his home village of Miyamoto. However, I gave Midori the naginata to use instead. The naginata was a polearm weapon with a curved blade, ideal do women of a samurai family. It offered more range than a sword, and required momentum as opposed to upper body strength.**

 **Thank you for reading, and please review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the late update, everyone. Reasons are at the end of the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. It is the intellectual property of the late Monty Oum, and his team and friends at Rooster Teeth.**

Chapter 6

The sun was beginning to set when a young woman with lime-green hair done in a low ponytail, in a dark brown hakama and white kimono walked through a village, and was greeted warmly by the townspeople.

The village, like all settlements outside the Mistral's immediate influence, was fortified. It had two walls, indicating an intermediate level settlement, growing past the "livable" stage most of the small villages were classified as, but still too small to be considered a bustling town.

For defense, the square outer walls' battlements sported automated turrets on each corner tower, and gunports for militiamen, or soldiers to stick their rifles through in the case of an attack. The inner walls, had the same, though they had a steel gate, and a narrow causeway over a dry moat that was once the initial defense of the old settlement.

The inner wall, circular in shape, encircled a town hall where the village elder conducted business, a barracks for the locally trained militia, which also served as an impromptu fire station, as well as the local clinic. The outer tier, had all the residential areas, built up in the expansion before the previous buildings within the inner tier were levelled. There were also shops, mostly just the grocery store, the local bar, the toy shop and arcade to provide entertainment to the residents along with the schoolhouse, and a landing pad for supplies from MEI supply network.

She entered into the inner tier toward the clinic, and there several of her own personal squad of MEI soldiers saluted her as she entered into the building. There was a nurse, an older woman, greeted her with a warm smile.

"Miss Midori, welcome back. How was training?" asked the nurse.

"It went well, thank you," replied Midori, "Coming back here has also helped put my mind at ease as well. This settlement has changed so much since I was a freshman at Haven. In any case, how's my brother?"

"He's asleep. With his medications administered, and him lying on a soft, clean bed, his coughing fits have settled. He just needs a good night's rest, and he'll be ready in the morning. If I may ask, what was so important that he had to be put on such a stressful journey?"

"It's a… family emergency," said Midori.

"Ah, a private matter then. Well, I shan't pry, forgive me," apologized the nurse.

"Don't worry. You didn't know. I'm just glad he's alright. May I see him?" asked Midori.

"Of course. Just try not to wake him. He was quite tired," the nurse answered as she opened the door.

"Thank you. I won't be long," said Midori.

Midori entered the room, and saw her little brother, Sora. Sora was a skinny kid with sky-blue hair, who had been diagnosed with tuberculosis at a young age. His coughing fits had confined him to the house for the most part, but when he could go out, it was mostly to do calm activities like leisurely strolls in the park, or gardening.

Their recent, carefully planned vacation to Vacuo was one that Sora had looked forward too. While Vacuo was known for being rough and tumble, the resorts in the area were some of the most heavily policed areas of the desert kingdom. Tourism was Vacuo's second biggest industry, and it wouldn't do to have the resort areas as rowdy as the rest of the city, after all.

They were having fun, and enjoying themselves and just about to celebrate his birthday when she was met with a man who had a briefcase cuffed to his wrist. She was perplexed until he asked to confirm her identity, and then received a letter from the Mistral council from him, which explained the situation in regards to Haven. She had been told that she needed to be home immediately, lest another situation like Beacon at the Vytal festival occur, and was informed that she'd have a compliment of soldiers from the MEI division escort her home once she arrived in Anima.

She hated to have to end the vacation just before his birthday, but her brother understood. Their family, former Mistral nobles, had instilled upon them the importance of duty, and Sora knew that when a mission came out, she was bound by honor to perform. Though she could detect no disappointment from him, she promised herself to make it up to him somehow.

She was about to stroke his hair when a siren went off.

"What on earth?"

The door opened, revealing the local constable.

"Ma'am," he whispered urgently, "Grimm. Lots of them, assembling outside the wall."

"I see. I'll meet you at the outer wall," she said.

The man nodded and left, and left the door open as well. Midori kissed her brother's forehead, and went off to the wall, and closed the door gently.

She and her escorts made their way to the wall, and Midori gaped at the sight.

Beowolves marching out of the forest in… columns?"

"You seeing what I'm seeing?" asked Midori.

"Yeah…" said a stunned MEI soldier.

Columns of beowolves led by alphas gathered outside the walls, and when the alpha's stopped a fair distance away from the outer wall, the column behind them kept moving until the formed a battle line in an orderly fashion. Midori was shocked at the almost military precision of the horde in front of her, which seemed to number two hundred, at least.

"To the walls!" she cried out, to the assembling militia from the ground floor, before she turned to one of her men, "Get to our transport, and radio for help."

The soldier ran off, and she readied her weapon.

…

In the forest behind the beowolves, a seer was rooted in the ground with its tentacles and sent out pulses that the beowolves felt.

Across many, many miles in the Grimmlands, Salem looked at her crystal ball, her eyes shut, and a hand over the orb. Though her seer, she got the beowolves into formation, and it had the desired effect, it seemed.

"Humans are so easily impressed," muttered Salem.

Then again, it wasn't often that primal creatures such as the grimm moved in formation. There was a spike in fear, one that spurred the beowolves into a frenzy. However, they would not move, not until she gave the order.

"Well, I suppose good dogs deserve a nice treat…" she smiled maliciously.

The hand over her orb formed a claw.

"Go."

...

The seer sent a pulse into the ground, and one of the alpha's roared. The horde ran to the village with pure bloodlust

xXxXx

"Wow, you really are fast," said Jaune as Smith presented his sword.

"Don't tell me you thought I was yankin' yer chain," said Smith, a little offended by Jaune's lack of faith.

"Well, it's just that the last guy worked on my weapon's upgrades was… Well, he took a little longer," clarified Jaune, "Sorry."

"The guy you worked with was from a village, if I recall your story. Haven has more resources and personnel, and we're always at full staff. Furthermore, he probably took longer because he tried to give you the best quality he could with what he had," said Smith.

Jaune nodded, sheepishly, and was amazed at what Smith had been able to do for them.

Smith had told them that the weapons would be ready in a matter of hours. Naturally, Jaune was skeptical, since a lot of hunters could spend days tinkering with their own gear, especially Ruby. Smith had explained that Haven was more than just a school, but also an emergency pit station of sorts for many of Mistral's hunters before going on missions.

Because Mistral controlled more of their continent that many of the other kingdoms, hunters needed to be ready at a moment's notice, or as quickly as possible, in order to defend Mistral's national interests. Haven's smiths and technicians had the tools, machinery, and training to upgrade weapons or fix them quickly, and having served as the forge master at the school for decades, Smith's declaration about finishing the upgrades of their weapons in a matter of hours was no empty boast, it seemed.

"I replaced the sheath blades with Type S steel, it's the closest thing to Castle Steel you can find in the modern market," said Smith.

"Cool. How much do we owe you?"

"All three of you are free of charge. Consider it thanks for saving the school," said Smith, "Tell those girls with you that it applies to them too."

"We'll be sure to let them know," said Ren.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Test it out. They may need some final adjustments after all," said Smith.

Nora immediately turned on Magnhild's hammer configuration, and pressed a second button beneath the grenade launcher mode's trigger. She squealed in delighted at the twelve spikes that came out around the barrel hole on the contact point.

"Ohhh!" she swooned at the sight of her war hammer turned maul, "Momma likes!"

"Great for piercing the armor on Grimm," said Smith.

"They can do the things I asked for?" asked Nora.

"There's a firing range behind the forge," said Smith, "Just hold both triggers, and release."

"Everyone get your stuff so I can try it out!" declared Nora giddily.

Ren took a look at Storm Flower, and saw two buttons at the end of his SMG's barrel. He pressed them, and the blades near the gun's muzzle became serrated on both sides. Ren had thought on his battles with the Nucklevee, and Hazel when coming up with his weapon's improvements. The serrated blades would lacerate and shred through any muscle tissue more easily. Even if his strikes were not fatal, his enemy would now bleed themselves out, depending on how ferociously they attacked.

"Your new blades have been coated with a special mineral blend to keep them sharp, and maintenance to a minimum," said Smith.

"Thank you, sir," said Ren politely.

Jaune checked out his sword and shield combination. The area of the shield's back where the enarmes straps had been modified. There was a circular sheet of metal with a locking mechanism, and simple gear system. Jaune pressed a button on the enarmes in his right hand, and the mechanism activated. The shield turned so that the tipped bottom of the heater shield lined up with Jaune's hand. The blades that would normally activate with his weapon's claymore mode jutted out, and turned his shield into an additional offensive option.

"Wow… This is amazing," said Jaune, who pressed the button again, and the shield returned to normal, "Thanks. This will definitely help us out in our future battles."

"Glad to hear it," said Smith, "Now then, why don't we go to the firing range, so that the young lady can test out the modifications we made to her hammer."

"Come on guys, hurry, hurry!" said Nora, who made to grab Ren and Jaune.

The door immediately rang, over and over.

"AH! What in the world is going on?!" cried out Smith, who winced at how the bell was being rung.

Smith moved with a purpose to the door: to give the hooligan who kept ringing the bell a piece of his mind.

Before Smith could get there though, the door burst open to reveal…

"Sun?!" yelped Jaune.

"Wukong?!" balked Smith, "What have I told you, and your team about ringing the bell?!"

"Sorry old man, but this in an emergency," gasped Sun, "The new headmistress is in trouble!"

Suddenly, Smith's face went from one of anger to concern. Jaune, Ren, and Nora also gasped at the news.

"A radio signal came in to the Mistral Defense Forces, and they contacted Qrow. He sent me to get you guys, while he went looking for Ruby and her team," finished Sun.

"…We have to move," said Jaune, after some thought.

Ren and Nora looked to him, surprised.

"Without testing our weapons?" asked Ren.

"We'll test them. It'll just be a trial by fire," said Jaune, seriously.

"Ooh," said Nora, intrigued, "Ballsy."

"Risky too," said Smith, "I said I'd have the modifications ready, but to test it out in an actual battle before I declare everything finished?"

"We can't let Haven be without a headmaster," said Jaune, "Beacon is practically lost to the grimm, and from what I hear, the grimm just keep coming because Vale is still worried. I refuse to let Haven go the same way. Haven already lost many huntsmen thanks to Lionheart, they can't lose another. We're all they have at the moment, so we need to move now."

Nora revved herself up for a fight, and Ren nodded in understanding.

"So be it," said Ren, "I'm with you Jaune."

"Let's break some legs!" announced Nora

"I'll come with you guys," said Sun, "Haven's my school. It's only fair I tag along to make sure our new headmistress gets here safe."

Jaune nodded, before he turned to Smith.

"We'll let you know what we think about our weapons when we get back," said Jaune.

"Just get yourselves back in one piece lad. Gears and metal can be replaced, kids like you can't," said Smith.

The four students nodded, and ran out the door to secure Haven's future.

"So, do we wait for Ruby, and her team?" asked Jaune as he kept up with the monkey faunus.

"No time. Because of what Lionheart did to our huntsmen, the kingdom's military's been doing double-duty just to match the old patrol quota. They could only spare us one airship, a sky junk, to use, and that Branwen guy said to go there while he gets Team RWBY for when the next patrol returns to refuel," said Sun as they neared the ship pads.

"How long would that be?" asked Nora.

"The next returning patrol arrives in ten minutes, way too long to wait for everyone. There's supposed to be a lot of grimm attacking the village Ms. Midori's in," said Sun, "Our objective is to hold the fort long enough to get the civilian's to safety… If we make it on time. Sky junks aren't known for being fast."

"We'll make it, and then we'll drink victoriously!" declared Nora excitedly.

As they approached the air junk, a Mistral Security officer approached them from the ship's open loading bay.

"You the ones that Branwen guy said to wait for?" he asked.

"Yeah, us and some reinforcements he's fetching in the city," said Sun, "He said he'll follow us with them when the next patrol returns."

"Got it. The pilots are ready; I'll tell the deck crew to get fuel ready for next patrol ships at the ready," commented the officer, "Get on!"

As the officer ran to the flight station, the four hunters-in-training got on board, and the ship began to take off one the loading bay was closed.

xXxXx

An arc of silver-blue light tore through the black fur, white bone plate and red eyes of the alpha that managed to climb over the wall.

'I don't get it. The people in the village acted normally. How could this many grimm be drawn here,' she thought.

Midori ran to and fro across the walls, her naginata expertly killed the assaulting grimm along the outer wall, as the guns of the turrets and local militia fired at the mass of grimm that climbed over one another to scale the stone barrier. They prioritized the grimm on the wall's crenellations, followed by the grimm at the base of black, climbable masses.

Midori turned to the local constable, who she noticed had arrived with more dust ammunition along with runners from the militia.

"Any news from Haven?" she asked.

"Just now actually," said man, relieved, "Four hunters-in-training on their way in a sky junk, with four more to arrive thereafter."

"Hunters-in-training?" gasped the woman. Had they lost so many hunters that they had to rely on students for aid? "…I understand. Thank you, Constable. Get all the civilians of the outer tier to the inner wall, and the central square prepped for Evac. The bulk of the militia and I will hold them here."

"Yes, Midori," the man bowed in affirmation, and got his men to move.

"Damn you, Lionheart," cursed Midori.

Her own headmaster… She had no idea what possessed Lionheart to send hunters, some of which were the man's own students at one point, out on suicide missions, but she swore she'd find out. It was one of the principal reasons she took the job as the Headmistress.

"Lieutenant, get the wounded to the inner wall. We need to hold until the sky junk gets here," said Midori to one of her MEI escorts.

The officer in question saluted her, and went off with a medic to retrieve some stretchers. She wanted to help them, but as the only huntress in the town, she had to remain with the militia to give that reassuring presence. If she left her post now, it could cause dissent, which would embolden the Grimm further.

"Help's coming! Just a little longer men! A little longer and our loved ones will be safe. Until then, fight!"

The men on the walls opened fire yet again, and militia members got to the walls gun ports and opened fire.

xXxXx

The sun had dipped halfway down past the west horizon as the sky junk sailed the air at a fast pace, enough to rattle the vessel almost.

"Can this ship hold at the speed we're travelling?" asked Ren.

"We're pushing it, it's true," said one of the crewmen, "Sky junks are primarily transports not meant to go this fast, but this is a rescue mission. After what went down in Vale last year, Mistral is uneasy enough. Losing another settlement like Shion would be bad. Losing a new head of the academy on top of that would be even worse."

"It would make people scared, and then there'd be more grimm," finished Jaune.

"We're approaching the site. ETA: ten minutes," said a voice on the intercom.

The ship's bay lights went red, and Ren and Nora got to work prepping their gear. Sun was staring stoically out the window, and Jaune went over to and put a hand on his shoulder.

"We'll save them," said Jaune.

"I know. Thanks man," said Sun, "Haven's like a second home. I don't want it to go under because of… _him_."

"I know…" said Jaune, his own complicated thoughts on Ozpin, and some of the actions his own headmaster took, "I know what you mean. But don't think on what Lionheart did right now. We have a mission, and we need to focus on that. We can get angry about that stuff later."

Sun nodded in understanding, and the two blondes prepared for battle.

xXxXx

The gate had been breached, the battlements overrun, and beowolves flooded the first tier of the settlement.

Midori cut down as many of the creatures as she could, and gave as much time to hold the beowolves back to get the militia to retreat across the causeway. Still, she saw too many of them clawed and mauled to have any hope of holding back the next wave should they break the inner wall. The militia worked feverishly to brace the iron gate with wooden pillars, furniture, and any heavy objects they could find in the inner wall.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The gate noised like a steady drum beat.

Each bumped pushed the gate, and the militia pushed back over and over, and over again. However, the gate would not last. A pack of forty beowolves might have been held at bay, but a hundred and fifty?

As the last of daylight began to dim, she saw the milita get more fatigued, and sighed.

"Constable."

The officer approached, haggard and fearful.

"Get the civilians and the wounded to the mayor's hall. It's the most secure building in the inner ring," said Midori, "And take half the remaining men with you."

"But… you'll need as many as possible to hold back the Grimm, and the gate," objected the constable.

"The civilians need the presence of the militia with them. If the Grimm breach the gate and kill us all, the people will lose hope. Having the militia with you, within sight, will give them the hope they will need, and will at least give you all a fighting chance to make it. After all, the building will give you more of a defensive advantage than me and my men out in the open," she explained before she picked herself up and readied her weapon, "That doesn't mean we'll make it easy for the bastards."

"...I'll ensure your brother is the first aboard the sky junk when it arrives," said the Constable, in a reassuring voice.

"…Thank you," said Midori.

Who knew how long it would be before they arrived, but she appreciated the kind words.

She saw the militia fall back while the bulk of her remaining MEI personnel. They had a calmer gaze than the militia, due to them being Mistral Security Forces. They all nodded to one another, and readied their rifles.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They didn't bother holding the gate. They fixed bayonets to their rifles, and aimed, ready to deliver a salvo and then kill what they could when the beasts closed in. Midori strode calmly before the line of men, her naginata at the ready.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"This is it men. We hold the line for as long as we can! Just focus on one thing: KILL!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Midori poised her naginata at the gate, and steeled herself.

"Hey… What's that?" said one of her soldiers.

She turned to the direction the voice came from, and saw a MEI soldier pointing to the sky. Midori looked, and saw a dark shape with red flashing lignts.

'Is that…?' she dared to think.

" _This is SJ-95308 responding to priority distress call, what's your status over?"_ said a voice in her earpierce.

Surprise and joy swelled in her chest upon hearing the voice.

BANG! BANG! BANG! CREEEEEK!

The metal gate bent and was torn open severely and an alpha beowolf's snout broke through the gate, and roared before it reared back to try to barge in again.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"SJ-95308, this is MEI operative 013, request immediate fire support, danger close! Marked by dust smoke!" Midori called out.

" _Understood, standing to await smoke. Be advised flash flares must be active to avoid friendlies."_

She turned to her men, who now had renewed hope in their eyes.

"Turn on your flares, and set a distress signal on the mayor's building. Aki, get purple smoke on that gate," cried out Midori.

With military precision, and a hint of desperation, the MEI soldier, Aki, did as ordered and popped a grenade over the wall, and another in front of the impromptu barricade. The smoke contained fine dust particles that the sky junk's sensors could see.

After the woman, Aki, did that, she and the rest of the soldiers all clicked a device on their combat vests which began to rapidly flash. While light did not seem particularly special, like the smoke, the sky junk had sensors that would detect it. Another soldier, pulled out another device, and planted it on the door to the mayor's hall. A red triangle, also flashing like their vest signals, blinked rapidly for the sky junk to detect.

 **BANG! CREEK! BANG!**

The gate was breached, and beowolves poured in. The MEI soldiers aimed and fired a salvo, which killed the front line of the beasts.

" _We see your flares and smoke. Get clear!"_ said the voice.

Midori saw the flashes of light in the air, brilliant enough that it caught the attention of even the frenzied beowolves. Immediately the MEI soldiers jumped back.

ssshhhhhHHHH – BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The earth around the beowolves erupted from the impact of the sky junks rounds. The beasts dissolved after being torn apart by the air ship's 30mm cannons. The ship's onslaught continued, and allowed her and her soldiers to regain themselves. They could hear cheers from the mayor's hall, and cries of relief.

…

"We're beginning our descent! It's going to be hot, so prepare to hit the ground running!" shouted one of the crewman over the sound of the cannon going off.

Jaune nodded, and he and the others got their weapons out.

"That's a lot of beowolves!" said Nora in anticipation as she looked out the portside window of the airship.

Everyone looked out, and they all were shocked at just how many there were.

"That's almost as much as when the Breach happened!" said Sun who remembered what happened in Vale before the Vytal Festival.

The gears in Jaune's head began to turn. No way would there be a Grimm horde of this magnitude for such a minor town.

'Could Salem be behind this?' he thought.

It did make some sense. A massive horde of grimm attacking the town where Haven's new headmistress was either a strategic maneuver, or a very big coincidence. Jaune made a note to talk to Ozpin about it.

"Everyone, gather round," said Jaune.

When Sun, Ren, and Nora went over, Jaune extended his hands over them.

"Since things are going be dicey, let's hit them hard."

He concentrated, briefly thought of a rabbit, and his aura began to flow.

…

Flashing red lights blinked in the dark sky, as the rescue craft began its descent into the fray as it continued to rain fire on the Grimm. As the craft got closer and hovered, the cannon stopped firing, and a machine gun opened fire in bursts at the sight of any nearby Grimm.

" _SJ-95308 to MEI operative 013, we are dispatching reinforcements, and will proceed to land by distress signal to begin evacuation procedures, over,"_ said the voice of the pilot.

"Understood," said Midori, her finger on the earpiece.

The bay doors opened, and four teenagers jumped out with their weapons drawn, and landed in front of her and her men. The ship moved closer to the mayor's hall, and Midori went to a blonde with jeans, white armor, and a black hoodie underneath with a sword at his hip.

"Are you Headmistress Midori?" he asked when he saw her.

"I am," she offered a hand.

"Jaune Arc," replied the blonde, and shook her hand.

"Nora Valkyrie," said a girl in a white shirt, pink skirt, and black bomber jacket with a war hammer.

"Sun Wukong," said a blonde with an open shirt, blue jeans, and a monkey tail with a staff.

"Lie Ren," said a young man with in green and white, with black hair and a magenta highlight, "We're here to evacuate you and the civilians to get to Mistral."

"Thank you all for coming," said Midori, sincerely.

"Beowolves! Lots of them!" called out the soldiers

A new wave of beowolves ran through the breach

Immediately, Jaune readied his sword and shield.

"Let's go guys!" shouted Jaune.

Midori saw the other three ready themselves, and she herself raised her polearm high for her soldiers to see.

"Set up a perimeter around the airship, men! We need to buy the crew time to evacuate the civilians!"

The soldiers fell back, while Midori joined the four hunters in training.

"Well kids, show me what you can do," said Midori.

 **So the reason for the late update was that I got RWBY Grimm Eclipse. I've been playing it for the past few weeks, and it's given me better ideas of how to handle the fight scene in the next, and** _ **final**_ **chapter. It should definitely be ready by next Sunday at the latest.**

 **Miscellaneous Notes:**

 **Jaune's new shield improvement was inspired by the shields of the Uruk-hai of** _ **Lord of the Rings**_ **trilogy.**

 **The sky junk is a larger version of the airships that picked up Qrow and RNJR after Kuroyuri. Just picture a Chinese junk galley with engines, and some modern looking broadside cannons.**

 **The town that the battle takes place, is based on some of the walled towns that I've seen in some of the** _ **Dynasty Warriors**_ **, and** _ **Samurai Warriors**_ **games I've played.**

 **While the battle might seem like something I shoehorned in, I drew a lot of influence from some the books, documentaries, interviews of veterans, and other media regarding the subject of war. History and literature is filled with examples of ambushes and military assaults in moments when the people on the receiving end least expect it. One example is the Fall of Troy, where the Greeks took advantage of the drunken Trojan's after their victory party to destroy the entire city. Another example was of one US soldier in the Pacific Front in WWII. The soldier was resting in his post when the Japanese Imperial Army did a Banzai rush, and the lone American had to defend his post until reinforcements arrived. The point is in a war, you're resting one minute, and the next thing you know, you're fighting for your life or the lives of your people. Resting is luxury from what I've observed.**

 **Thank you for reading, and please review.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I knew I should have spent a little more time detailing Nora's weapon in the last chapter… Oh well, I added them in this chapter.**

 **In any case, we are here at the end of the story. I hope you all enjoy it.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **RWBY**_ **. It is the intellectual property of the late Monty Oum, and his team and friends at Rooster Teeth.**

Chapter 7

"Well kids, show me what you can do," said Midori.

Beowolves charged in their direction with ravenous roars.

"You got it!" saluted Nora, who revealed her grenade launcher, "I finally get to test this baby out."

On the flat end of the hammer that launched the grenades, the central hole was the launcher's primary muzzle was surrounded by twelve circles in two circular rows of six in an alternating arrangement.

She pulled both of the triggers, as Smith had instructed, six of the twelve circles opened to reveal six yellow cones. The cones flew out as rockets and collided with the enemy, exploding on impact.

"AWESOME!" cried out Nora, delighted by the test fire, as the rocket lids closed again and went inside the launcher.

The explosion fanned out and burned a path of destruction into the horde of beowolves, and unhinged the gate, shattered the gatehouse, and dissolved the causeway behind them.

Jaune, Sun, Ren, and Midori stared.

"…Well, good to know her weapon's new features work," said Ren.

"What did Smith put in those rockets?" asked Jaune, awestruck.

"Knowing the old geezer, whatever she asked for," answered Sun.

"Smith always was a bit of a pyromaniac," said Midori.

Despite the destruction, the black claws of beowolves grasped the edge of the dry moat where the causeway once was, and climbed onto the area of the inner wall.

"Ohhh," whined Nora, who pressed the new button, and the armor piercing spikes came out of the other six holes, "I knew I should have asked Smith to see if he could add another volley."

"Come on," said Jaune, "We've got to keep them from getting a foothold."

The four hunters-in-training, and Midori charged at the breach in the wall, and an alpha beowolf leapt over the climbing mass of its lessers. With a burst of speed, Midori got ahead of everyone, and swung her naginata upward between the beast's legs. The blade sliced through one of the legs and continued to cut into the creature's arm, and severed that as well. Jaune moved just ahead of her to finish the beast off.

'Let's see how you like it with some aura,' Jaune thought to himself.

He activated his semblance, focused it to his sword in roughly the same way he focused it in his arm when Yang and he arm wrestled, and swung as hard as he could in a downward stroke.

Shhk-Splat!

The alpha was beheaded, and speed he delivered his blow created an air wave, just like in his solo training sessions on RNJR's journeys through Anima. However, it was charged with his aura, and the wave glowed white, and traveled to the mass of beowolves that had climbed out of the dry moat. The bewolves' bodies split cleanly along their necks, chests, and torsos, and a corner of the standing wall that the diagonal wave came into contact with was sliced off and slid down onto the breach. This made another obstacle for the attacking grimm to climb over, and the five of them to stare in surprise.

"Slicing aura arcs!" cheered Nora, who broke the silence with glee.

"It's possible?" voiced Ren.

"Quite the semblance you have, Mr. Arc," said an impressed Midori, who whistled.

Sun looked at his hands, and tapped into the bit of aura that Jaune loaned him. After that awesome display, Sun was eager to see what an aura boost from the guy did for him. He activated his own semblance, and suddenly a miniature army of fifty glowing Sun Wukong clones appeared at his back.

"Whoa…" said Sun, who then turned to the surprised looks of Midori, and JNR, "Dude, we have got to take you on more missions."

…

A seer emerged from a different part of the forest where the beowolves came from, and floated to the top of a hill that gave Salem, who reclined in her chair, a decent view of the activity within the two tiers. Salem witnessed the arrival of the air ship as it flew over the forest canopy earlier, and was quite surprised Mistral had sent reinforcements. She had debated whether or not to retake control of her packs, but decided against it.

"it doesn't matter… It was just one ship. The beowolves will make quick work of-"

A mass of yellow light flooded from the breach at the inner wall and onto her army of grimm, and black dust from her dying forces began to fly into the air.

"What on earth?!" she shouted.

…

After a brief explanation on how Jaune's semblance worked, Midori was given a boost that restored her aura reserves. Midori then took the lead, and decided that the army of Suns was their best shot of securing the town. Midori led the charge into the dry moat, and the five warriors and their impromptu army began to take the fight to the horde.

His clones, Sun discovered, were more resilient, hit harder, and lasted longer. Before, it would have taken three clones alone to take on a beowolf. Thanks to Jaune's semblance though, a single clone could bring down two or three, depending on how long they lasted until they petered out, or an alpha, significantly more powerful than its lesser pack mates, destroyed one. Sun had help protecting his clones though.

Jaune's aura enhanced air waves mowed down grimm, while Nora, through the aura boost she got from Jaune before landing, used her lightning powered hammer to shock and stun a beowolf. The impact caused the lightning from the hammer to spread to other nearby beowolves, and that made it easier for her to take them down on her own.

When confronted with alphas, Nora used her new spike feature to add piercing damage to the impact, but it was primarily Ren, and Midori who confronted the alphas. Midori confronted the greater grimm directly, while Ren made targeted surgical strikes with Storm Flower's new serrated edges. Ren would hook and scythe enemy limbs, and if possible the necks of any grimm he came across on the field. The grimm would be disabled or struggle just to stay upright, which allowed him to finish them off with point blank shots from Storm Flower, or his own aura powered martial arts strikes. If he didn't, or couldn't, slay the creature due to the hectic nature of the battle, he would leave it to Jaune, Nora, or Sun's clones to finish them off the creature.

As Nora pierced and crushed the skull of one such alpha beowolf, a lesser, beowolf rushed in from behind.

"Nora, look out behind!" shouted Jaune.

Nora instinctively swung, but Jaune saw she wouldn't make it. Out of instinct, he reached out, and a pulse of aura emerged from his hands, and Nora glowed a faint blue.

Nora's hammer traveled twice as fast, and crushed the beowolf's side, and it dissolved.

"Thanks Jaune!" said Nora, who rushed off to another beowolf.

"Whoa… I didn't even think about the rabbit," said Jaune before following Nora's example, "I guess all that practice payed off."

He went about, and bashed and cut beowolf after beowolf. He used his new shield function, to deflect any strike from a grimm's claws before he delivered a punching motion with his improved bulwark toward his targets' face, or chest. Glancing hits would slice into the beowolf, while any direct hits with the shield's repositioned tip would crack something based on what he heard. The debilitations he delivered gave him just enough time to deliver a fatal blow to his adversaries.

As the beowolves began to thin out, an alpha approached the young blonde knight, and charged. Jaune immediately raised his shield, and blocked the attack. He was forced back, and landed hard on his back. While he was down, he used a bit of aura to heal himself, but when the alpha charged again and was upon his prone body, he threw all thought of concentration away. His aura flooded his body, and he rolled to avoid the jaws of the giant beast. He lashed out his sword, and severed the alpha's legs. He rapidly got to his feet after he rolled from under the dismembered beast, and raised his sword and stabbed it down.

As the alpha dissolved, Jaune saw the last of the beowolves, and Sun's clones disappear, with only a few stragglers that were taken care of by Nora, Ren, and Midori. As victory was within sight, he smiled.

The world began to spin.

"Whoa…" was all Jaune could sway when he felt his knees waver, and he collapsed onto his side.

"Jaune!" said Nora, who bashed her opponent with her maul, and went to his side in an instant.

Sun joined in as quickly as he could as well, with Ren and Midori joining after the last beowolf died.

"I saw you collapse. Is something wrong? Did that alpha get a hit on you?" asked Sun, worried.

"Not really… just… rushed my aura… with that last grimm," Jaune panted.

"How much aura did you put in?" asked Ren.

"A lot… The alpha I was up against was fast… I didn't have time to think about the rabbit… and stuff," said Jaune as he forced himself onto his feet.

"It seems you're suffering from aura depletion," observed Midori, "How long have you practiced with your semblance?"

"Just discovered it last week," said Jaune.

Midori frowned at that.

"Conservatively, it takes weeks to get a good grasp on it, and at least a year to be proficient with it. Going to battle and using a semblance with little training was not only reckless on your part, but foolish also," said Midori sternly.

"Well… that's good to know," chuckled Jaune weakly.

Midori stared at Jaune, then surveyed the no longer hostile area, and sighed.

"That being said… that semblance of yours helped to turn the tide. So thank you, Mr. Arc. However, my statement still stands. Be careful, or you might suffer more than just fatigue in the future."

"I'll practice… Promise," said Jaune.

That got a nod from Midori, who turned to the breach in the inner wall and saw the town constable.

"The sick, the wounded, and women and children are all accounted for. There's just the men that need to be taken onto the sky junk," stated the man.

"Then let's make sure we get them aboard, and get out," said Midori, who turned to Jaune, "And Mr. Arc, you need to get some rest on the ship now. I can take it from here. Thank you, all of you."

Jaune heard the sincerity in her thanks, and he bowed as best he could in reply before Sun, Ren, and Nora helped him out of the moat. As Midori oversaw the final evacuation procedures, the three hunters-in-training got onto the sky junk, and set Jaune down on one of the upper decks.

"That semblance of yours was pretty sick," said Sun.

"I used it too much…" argued Jaune.

"Heat of the moment. You did say today was a trial by fire after all," said Nora.

"I guess," sighed Jaune, despondent, "I just wish I didn't put myself out of commission."

"Don't think that way man. You gave us all the time, energy, and strength to protect the evacuation without freaking out about whether or not the line will hold. Just think of it as a well-earned break," said Sun as they climbed the upper deck of the airship.

"Sun's correct," added Ren, "While there's still work to do in getting better control over your aura, you performed admirably, given the short time you put into your training."

"…" Jaune thought on Ren's words, and nodded, "Thanks guys, it means a lot."

The three smiled in an encouraging manner, before Sun got up.

"I'm going to do a final pass to make sure we didn't leave anyone behind. Sit tight, okay buddy?" said Jaune.

"Yeah," Jaune sighed, "Say Ren, Nora, could you join him, and work with the militia and Miss Midori to look around for any other survivors throughout the town? There might be some who went into hiding in the outer tier."

"You got it!" said Nora with a salute, while Ren simply nodded.

As the three went back out, Jaune looked through the porthole by where he sat, and surveyed what he saw of the ruined town, and thought on the words of his friends. He still felt bad, being in the ship instead of helping the evacuation, but they all had a point. The alpha was fast, and he reacted as best he could. He'd count his lucky stars that it happened after toward the end, and not in the middle of the battle. Jaune decided to make it his priority to come up with some training ideas with Ren.

'Until then, I guess I just rest… Maybe they're right, and I _am_ being too hard on myself,' thought Jaune, 'I helped buy the evacuation time, helped my team get through a battle, and the people of the town are going to make it. That's a win in my book, and everyone's here as far they may be concerned.'

He continued to look out the window, and after some time, Ren approached him along with Sun and Nora.

"Everyone's safe and sound!" announced Sun, "Good call telling us to go back to the outer tier. There were some kids hiding in the toy shop, and school."

"We were also able to see of the fallen. The ones that were still retrievable at least," added Ren, with a growl before he regained himself, "For many, all we could find were name and dog tags. It's given some people closure."

Jaune nodded, and heard the engines fire up, and the bay doors on the lower deck close.

The landing gears were retracted, and the engines burned hot as the air ship, now at capacity, began to fly off back to Mistral.

xXxXx

A seer floated through the abandoned village.

…

Salem scowled as she saw that her plan had failed, but a part of her was intrigued.

'What was that light of gold that washed over my forces? And how were they dispatched in so rapid a manner?' she thought to herself.

While an obvious answer would have been "a lot of hunters," Leonardo's period of usefulness ensured that such a notion would not be an issue with her plans in Anima. And yet her forces were defeated quite handily…

"Either the new headmistress of Haven is more dangerous that Leo gave her credit for, or Ozpin has a warrior of great caliber in his service…"

The seer noted the direction the airship went in, and there was still enough lingering negativity. Hmm…

Salem waved a hand over her crystal ball.

…

The seer dug its tentacles into the ground, and a pulse fired off into the ground.

xXxXx

Ten minutes after takeoff, Nora and Sun, and even Miss Midori looked between the two boys in front of them.

"I don't care how boring, or silly, Nora, Yang, or even you think they are. When you get your strength back, we are doing more aura control exercises," said Ren, sternly to his resting teammate.

"No objections," said Jaune as he gave a thumbs up.

"With more control, you can do more of what you did, not to mention such attacks may even become more powerful when you have the proper focus," continued Ren.

"Ren, I said I'm fine with that. You don't need to explain your reasoning. In fact, maybe can brainstorm on the way back to Mistral."

"It would be better if you rested," said Midori, "Aura depletion is easy to recover from while your mind is calm and steady, like when you sleep."

"Not to mention, you'll come up with some better training ideas after you rest up," threw in Sun.

"That's right! Naptime, fearless leader… Ohh, how about a lullaby?"

Jaune and Ren internally cringed at the thought of Nora singing

"I don't think a lullaby is-"

"What's that?!" shouted someone by one of the other windows.

Jaune stopped that thought.

"Nevermores! Lots of them!" shrieked a woman.

Panic erupted into the ship.

…

Feeling the spike of negativity, a murder of giant nevermores were drawn to the craft, and flew to it in a V-formation. The lead nevermore had a different appearance than the others, namely it's bloodied eye that had a seer embedded inside it.

In the Grimmlands, Salem watched on in her crystal ball.

As much as she may have wanted to know what caused her plan to destroy the new headmistress of Haven and the town fail, she did not want to have Ozpin's allies return to him.

"A shame my curiosity will not be sated… Oh well," she stated to herself.

She held her hand over the crystal ball that linked her to her seer, and this time, she would personally oversee the destruction of her target.

…

"Nevermores?!" gasped Nora, "Where'd they come from?"

"They must have been drawn to the people's earlier panic!" cursed Midori.

"Do we have anything to fend them off?" asked Sun.

"Nothing effective," said Midori, "Sky junks were meant for transport, or in wartime, as bombers. The primary armaments are meant to clear landing zones, or deal with ground targets. The closest things to anti-air that it possesses are the automated machine gun turrets, but the main line of defense were fighter escorts," said Midori.

"Which we don't have," cursed Nora.

"Wait… I have an idea, but you aren't going to like it," said Jaune.

"I think we'd be all ears at this point," said Sun.

"What are you thinking?" asked Ren.

"Remember how you told us you semblance can calm people down, and allowed you and Nora to escape Kuroyuri?"

"Yes, but that was Nora and I. I can't do that to… No…"

"Yes, you can," said Jaune, "With my help. I can amplify your semblance to extend to everyone on board."

"But… you already spent a lot of aura!" objected Nora, "At full capacity, it'll take the ship a long time to get back to defense array of the kingdom."

"I don't need to keep it up until we get to the kingdom. Only long enough to get those buzzards off our back," said Jaune.

"No, it's too risky," said Ren, "If you expend too much aura, you'll die."

"And if we dither around, _everyone_ will die. Those giant nevermores are too fast and nimble to take on with just automated turrets. You know how much it takes to kill one, and we're dealing with a literal flock of them," insisted Jaune, "It's our best shot to get out of this mess, and you know it."

Ren and Nora looked at one another, and Jaune could see the look in their eyes. They were worried, obviously, but it was the best option that they had. All the hunters present had weapons ideal for close range fighting, and even if there was another set of rockets in Nora's launcher, the rocket feature did not have any guidance systems from what he could tell. As for the automated turret system, it was mostly meant to dissuade a fighter plane from getting hit. A nevermore bent on killing the terrified inhabitants would not be driven off as easily.

"Bogies inbound…" said a militiaman, who looked out the window.

"Alright…" said Ren, "But the moment you feel weak, you stop. Understood?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm the team leader," chuckled Jaune.

"Which is why you have to stop when you feel weak. You're _our_ leader Jaune. Ren, and I need you. Do you understand?" insisted Nora.

Jaune looked to his two teammates and smiled.

"Arc's honor," he replied.

Ren nodded, got into a meditative stance, and Jaune joined him. The two took a few breaths, and when Jaune put a hand on Ren's shoulder, the two tapped into their respective semblances. Jaune poured his aura into Ren steadily, vaguely imagining a rabbit moving tentatively, and let Ren take care of the rest.

Ren reached out to all the people in the sky junk's hold, and felt the fear and confusion among the displaced populace. He then summoned the aura he and Jaune pooled together, and he felt a weight within him.

"Jaune… try to restrain it a little more. That's too much aura," said Ren.

"Like this?" asked Jaune.

Ren felt the aura flow smooth out.

"Yes… good. That should be sufficient. Now maintain it as consistently as possible," instructed Ren.

Once Ren was sure the aura flow from Jaune wouldn't fluctuate, he proceeded to calm the people in the cargo bay down. He felt amazed at not just how many people he influenced in this manner, but the sheer speed he was doing it. Jaune's aura was like a steady stream, fueling his semblance, but Ren was well aware of Jaune's situation, and used loaned aura as sparingly as possible.

"Ma'am, I think it's working," said a militiaman at the window to Midori.

Nora, Sun, and Midori walked over to the window, and looked outside. The giant nevermores that once made a beeline for their air ship were still flying in their direction, but a little more slowly. One of the birds flapped its wings, and flew alongside the air ship before transitioning to a glide. It was not close enough to peer into the window, but it was close enough that when Nora looked out the window, she could see something in the avian's eye. It was glassy in appearance, and there were tendrils like roots bulging from the socket.

…

Salem could not believe what she did _not_ see.

One minute she was seeing the air ship, the next it was invisible. It had virtually phased from existence. Through her seer, she had made the nevermore fly to where she knew the air ship was, and searched for it feverishly.

Salem knew it was there, but the seer attached to the nevermore could not sense any form of fear, or negativity. As a part grimm herself she knew that the Creatures of Grimm did not see in the same way that humans did.

Their vision, as she once told a curious Watts, was akin to a viper's. Vipers were essentially blind, unable to make fine details, but a viper could sense heat through pits in its head, which alerted them to both threats and prey. All grimm, herself being the exception, saw in that manner, even her seers. While she could not see Lionheart directly, the signature of his fear and cowardice was unforgettable, as was the fear on the airship before it somehow vanished.

BOOM!

The seer, and the nevermore she had it attached to, rocked violently.

"What?!" growled Salem.

…

"SJ-95308, this is MDF Patrol Alpha-5, we have visual of hostile bogies coasting at your six, and three, what's your status over?" Team RWBY heard the pilot say into the radio.

" _Patrol Alpha-5, this is SJ-95308. One of my crewmen is saying that two hunters are masking us from hostiles. Request immediate support, over."_

"Roger SJ-95308, we are closing in. Standby," said the pilot, who then proceeded to punch some buttons on his console. A missile fired, and shot its way to deliver a direct hit that knocked the nevermore back.

"How come it's not attacking the sky junk?" asked Blake.

"It must be the 'Area Cloak' that Jaune and Ren came up with when we were brainstorming ideas!" said Ruby, "It's working!"

"Well then, let's provide some help to our friends" said Weiss, who drew her rapier.

…

Once the seer and giant nevermore seemed to recover, Salem directed clawed her hand over the orb in front of her.

In skies, the seer sent out another pulse, and the nevermores followed the lead grimm it infected and flew to its aid. The murder reformed, but were greeted by the sight of twelve, medium-class Mistral combat skiffs armed with missiles and anti-air cannons and two squads of fighter planes coasting along the left and right flanks of the ships that approached.

Just then a white light materialized from the lead skiff and it revealed itself to be a queen lancer, but ethereal in nature.

"A Schnee summons…" muttered Salem.

Normally, a giant nevermore would not hesitated to attack such a force, but she was in control and the appearance of the lancer gave her some pause. While she could certainly destroy it, she'd have to drive the murder of nevermores into the firing range of all the ships in order to provide cover from the anti-air cannons. Even then, if the nevermore did destroy the summons, the ships would obliterate her seer-infected grimm before it could get away.

Her targets would be beyond her reach, regardless.

She sighed

"Enjoy your victory, little humans," said Salem as she bade her nevermores to fly away.

…

Nora saw the nevermores break off.

"They're leaving!" shouted Nora, "How are you holding up, Jaune?"

"We're safe…?" he panted, "Can I stop?"

"Almost! Those buzzards are almost out of attack range, and we've got air support coming in. Just a little longer!" Nora encouraged.

Jaune grunted, but there was a satisfied smile on his face.

After about a minute, Nora saw the new headmistress of Haven tap her leader's shoulder.

"Enough kid. You did well. I think we're clear," Midori said gently.

Immediately, Jaune powered off his semblance, and sighed in relief, along with Ren.

"You did it!" cheered Sun, who saw the skiffs surround the sky junk through the window.

"We're safe!" said Nora.

Everyone cheered, and cried for joy, having escaped that nightmare of a grimm raid. Once he regained his senses from using his semblance for so long, Ren turned to his team leader.

"How are… Jaune?" said Ren, confused by Jaune's slack posture.

" _Shhnkk…"_ Jaune snored softly.

Ren, Nora, and Sun sighed in relief, as they had thought he pushed himself too far.

"Let him rest," said Midori, "I think he's earned it."

xXxXx

It was a few days after the incident with the grimm raid when Midori Miyamoto was finally able to relax. The grimm raid had woken up her brother, and the stress extended the time he had to spend bedridden. However despite this, her brother was doing well, and would be discharged tomorrow.

This put her mind at ease and gave her plenty of time to familiarize herself in her office, and most importantly deal with the man that stood before her new desk: Qrow Branwen, the acting headmaster.

"So… how do you like your new digs?" asked Qrow.

"Part of me wants to burn it down, given what Lionheart did. But that might send alarms to the Council, and I don't want to have to deal with an inquiry so soon on the job," she replied.

Qrow snorted, though she was sure a chuckle was somewhere inside the noise he made.

"So… What happened?" asked Midori.

"What do you mean?" asked Qrow.

"Why did Lionheart do it? All the council's letter stated was that Lionheart was compromised by the White Fang, but that seems fishy to me," asked Midori.

"Sounds about right," said Qrow.

Midori's eyes narrowed, and Qrow frowned in response.

"Even if there was more to it, what makes you think I know?" asked Qrow.

"Because you fought him, according to the report, and I know Lionheart enough to know that he would never send people to their deaths for the reason the council is suggesting. Weakening Mistral to attempt a coup d'état as part of White Fang conspiracy. Give me a break. Lionheart was many things, but grandiose? The guy cared too much for his political and personal reputation for something like that. Advocating more troops than needed, sending in twelve hunters when four would do. It might have been overkill, but successful missions are good politics after all. Also, he would never tarnish the title 'First Faunus Headmaster' by associating with faunus terrorists," said Midori.

Qrow blinked a little, looked away, and smirked.

"You're pretty sharp," ventured Qrow.

Midori's eyes narrowed.

"I want the truth. All of it," said Midori.

"Are you sure?" asked Qrow, "I could say, but it isn't something you can unlearn."

"Unlearn? Did Lionheart know something?" asked Midori.

"He knew more than something. He knew someone who terrified him enough to do what he did," said Qrow.

"Who could terrify Lionheart? He was no pushover, even if he spent years behind a desk and out of the field," argued Midori.

"I can answer that question," said a new voice.

Midori and Qrow looked off to the side where a panel on the wall opened to reveal a secret door. Midori looked in surprise as she saw a little tan kid with a curly brown hair, a farmer's attire, and a black cane emerge from hiding.

"So… you _are_ going to tell her?" asked Qrow.

Midori blinked when she saw the kid's eyes glow.

"After thinking on what Mr. Arc mentioned, before the grimm assault on the village, I came to the conclusion he was correct. Others have gotten involved, and _she_ is not one to suffer challengers, no matter how small she deems them," said the kid.

"Who are you?" asked Midori.

The boy looked to her, and Midori was stunned. The boy's eyes looked old; too old to be on a kid as young as he was. And that cane… she felt she had seen it before somewhere.

"Hello again, Midori, I am Professor Ozpin, the former headmaster of Beacon Academy," replied the boy.

"What the – No," objected Midori, "You can't be Professor Ozpin, I met him in the Vytal Festival. He was-"

"The one who gave your team, Team Marigold, the silver at the Vytal Festival award ceremony. You helped your teammate Rusty, who was in a cast due to a knee injury in the final match, up the stage and put him front and center for all to see as he held the trophy high above his head with pride. After he lowered the trophy during the presentation, he said to you: 'Two years from now, I promise we'll be holding up gold, boss," said the boy.

Midori stared.

"I… Holy… Crap… Professor Ozpin?" asked Midori.

The boy nodded.

"How…? What happened to you?" asked Midori.

"Let's just say my current situation is the result of same individual that got to Leo," said Ozpin.

"I see… What will I be up against, now that I'm in Lionheart's shoes?" asked Midori, seriously.

"To answer that question, I need to start by asking you one. Tell me, Midori: what's your favorite fairy tale?"

xXxXx

Jaune stirred from slumber, and he was greeted by the sight of RWBY, Ren, and Nora around him.

"Guys...?" he asked groggily.

Immediately, they gathered around him.

"Jaune! Are you okay?" cried Ruby, worried.

"Ruby, give him room to breathe," scolded Weiss.

"He had plenty of time to do that for the past few days," said Yang.

"We shouldn't crowd him," added Blake, in support of Weiss, "At least let him get his bearings."

"How you doing, boss," said Nora, in a calmly excited voice that only Nora could pull off.

"Waking up… Just give me a moment," said Jaune as he pushed himself to sit upright against the pillows he felt at his back.

His friends did so, and Jaune got a better view of his surroundings. It looked like he was the hospital from the looks of things, namely the white walls, curtain around his bed, and the fact he was wearing a hospital gown.

"Yang… did you say 'past few days?" asked Jaune.

"Yep. Enjoy your nap?" asked Yang.

"I guess. Not sure how I like the hunger I'm feeling, but I feel pretty rested," he answered.

"Good. Cause the way Nora describes it, it sounds like quite the fight you went through," commented Weiss.

"It was… I pushed myself a little too hard," said Jaune sheepishly.

"Heat of the moment," reminded Nora.

"What matters is you all got home safe," said Ruby, "Team RNJR still has work to do along with Team RWBY after all."

"Plus Sun, and Ilia," threw in Blake, "Ozpin decided to bring them along when we finally go to Atlas."

"I didn't delay the departure too much, did I?" asked Jaune.

"Well, actually, you might have helped make things easier to get into Atlas," began Ren, "For having helped rescue the headmistress, we've secured passage on the ship of Mistral's ambassador to Atlas as soon as you've recovered."

"Which means we won't have to run the risks that we'd have if we went with the smugglers," said Yang.

"Well that's good. I guess I better rest up so that we can leave ASAP," chuckled Jaune.

"You deserve it, fearless leader. We dropped an anvil on those grimm, and deserve to celebrate," said Nora.

"An anvil?" asked Ren.

"Like in those old cartoons, where those bad guys get an anvil to their head while they try to enact their evil deeds," explained Nora.

"Nora…" sighed Ren.

"Don't 'Nora…' me! You said the exact same thing about the aura arcs, and Jaune made it happen!" declared Nora.

"Anvil…?" said Jaune, "Huh… Anvil…"

"Jaune?" asked Yang.

"Just… when I was coming up with ideas for how I could use my semblance, I was playing around with team names too. The thing was, I could never come up with one and gave up," said Jaune, "I think Nora just gave me one just now though."

"Oh, what is it," asked Ruby, curious.

"Guys, what do you think of Team Anvil?" said Jaune.

"Anvil?" asked Ren.

"ANVL: Arc, Nora Valkyrie, and Lie," said Jaune.

"I like it! I get two spots!" said Nora, instantly, "Not to mention anvils are heavy. Perfect for crushing the skulls of our enemies!"

"Or holding things in place… like what your semblance was able to help us do when we fought against the grimm," said Ren.

"So… you guys like it?" said Jaune.

"…Yes, I do," said Ren.

"Me too!" said Nora

Jaune smiled at his two remaining teammates, before turning to RWBY.

"What do you guys think?"

"Anvil does have a nice ring to it…" said Weiss.

"Name's pretty cool," said Yang.

Blake shrugged.

"Well, if you guys like it, I do too," said Ruby.

"Then it's decided," said Jaune, "Team ANVL is good to go."

THE END

 **OMAKE:**

After Team RWBY left to get some food for JNR and themselves, Jaune saw a concerned look on Ren's face.

"Something wrong, Ren?" asked Jaune.

"Just a question I had about our new name. Why does Nora get two letters?" asked Ren.

"She does have the strength for two people…" said Jaune.

"Plus, I gave the idea," said Nora confidently.

"I guess that makes sense," said Ren.

"Plus… Nah, never mind."

"What is it, fearless leader?" asked Nora.

"Well, it's just the reason I gave up renaming the team initially was because the only word I could come up with our names was… not flattering," said Jaune.

"It couldn't have been that bad," reassured Nora.

"ANL," said Jaune, in a flat voice.

"…" Ren blinked.

"…" Nora tilted her head.

"Okay… good call giving Nora two letters," said Ren.

 **A/N: I finally finished it. A bit of a cheesy ending, but I finished it!**

 **I feel so proud because for better or worse, I actually finished a multi-chapter story that I started, and before the next volume of the show too.**

 **A big "** _ **THANK YOU"**_ **to all of you who favorited, reviewed, and liked this work. It truly means a lot. I hope you all liked the ending, and I hope I gave a sense of resolution for you all.**

 **Miscellaneous Notes**

 **The scene where the nevermores lose sight of the ship was inspired by Predator (1987). Grimm vision was something I thought about since the episode where RNJR fights the Nucklevee in Kuroyuri. Jaune, and Qrow physically turned grey, if I remember right, and hid from the grimm even though they were standing right in front of it. In the movie "Predator," the alien had a visor that saw with heat vision. Even though Arnold's character, Dutch, was in front of the Predator, the hunter couldn't see him because Arnold was covered in mud, which hid his heat signature. I figured that that was probably how the grimm see people as well. Not necessarily though their eyes, but from a particular signature: negative emotions.**

 **Another thing I took into consideration with the nevermore scene was the danger everyone was in without a fighter escort. In WWII, even though heavy bombers had a myriad of defensive machine guns, there were blind spots that the crew couldn't defend from, and enemy planes were far too fast and nimble to get a shot at. As such, the best defense for a bomber was a fighter escort, since only another fighter plane could keep up with and actively threaten attackers.**

 **For the battle, I wanted to show it as realistically as possible. Jaune pushing himself a little too far, and using too much aura is something I can see Jaune doing, especially since he only just discovered it.**

 **Some of the moves JNR pulled in the battle were inspired from gameplay from** _ **RWBY: Grimm Eclipse**_ **.**

 **Sun's boost was inspired by Naruto's shadow clones.**

 **A flock of crows is called a "murder."**

…

 **Thank you all very much for reading this story. I hoped you all enjoyed it, or at least found it interesting. Let me know what you think of the final product in the reviews.**


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